


A Little Spark

by Fireteam_Russian_Roulette



Series: Fireteam Russian Roulette [4]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Childbirth, Death, F/F, Gen, Gore, Heavy Themes, It Gets Better
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:00:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 31,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27754984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fireteam_Russian_Roulette/pseuds/Fireteam_Russian_Roulette
Summary: A Guardian finds herself in an unprecedented situation and the adventures of her and her fireteam, Russian Roulette, follow. its more of a collection of short stories than a flowing story but they all make up one storyline
Relationships: Elsie/Skye, Guardian/Guardian (Destiny)
Series: Fireteam Russian Roulette [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2091060
Kudos: 4





	1. A Messy Entrance (Heavy Themes/Skippable)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Destiny](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/718300) by Bungie. 



> Hey, so I was working on this Story for a long time but recently i showed some friends and I thought it might be easier to put down in an easier to read form, so I'm back writing fanfiction for a bit. enjoy if you end up reading this, works with personal canon but the universe belongs to BUNGIE.
> 
> (Beth/Dust (Boa/Pyli) Russian-Hunter)  
> (Elsie/Spark (Captain/Iskra) Russian-Titan)  
> (Skye/Hope (Arctic/Esperer) French-Warlock)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A hunter finds herself fighting for her life as she brings a child into the world, only her best friend can help her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Skippable if the topic is uncomfortable, you won't miss anything.) features death of mother and gore.

The hunter stood in a broken doorway, staring out over the EDZ in silence, her hands cradling a swollen stomach. Her black Cat-Shelled ghost floating over her shoulder protectively. "We should go" the ghost spoke quietly, "It's dangerous to stay here" she advised, a weak hope that perhaps this time her guardian would listen.

"Tis fine for now" the hunter replied with a sweet Voice in Russian. she gave the ghost a gentle smile, no dice this time either.

Dust looked like she wanted to argue but didn't and gazed at her guardian with concern. After a few minutes, the hunter turned and walked back into the crumbling building and stiffly settled back down in her camp, resting against a wall breathlessly. Her gaze turned to her stomach as she rubbed gentle circles over her tight jump suit with quiet adoration and a flutter of nerves.

Due to the nature of her condition, her Armour had been modified, giving her half the protection she normally had as her stomach extended in front of her. Beth was heavily pregnant, something neither her nor her ghost thought was even possible. Their first death was thought to have ruined the ability let alone the constant deaths caused by a guardians line of work. The Hunter hadn't died for months now, apparently she had lived long enough for a pregnancy to take hold and beyond that, she avoided death to preserve her condition as she was unable to find the will to stop it in it's tracks.

Beth Flinched as she heard metal footsteps approach and with her slower reaction speed, she barely had her weapon up before a familiar titan walked through the door with her hands up defensively. "ey, i assure you, am not That scary... all the time" a female voice replied playfully in Russian. The hunter gave a relieved sigh and dropped her weapon lazily as the titan took her helmet off. A beautiful awoken woman faced her with a concerned smile, "how you feeling?' She asked as she stepped over and dropped down beside the hunter.

The titan was the only one who knew where Beth was, she had left the tower when she couldn't escape the eyes on her at the tower, The unwanted attention was driving her insane since she was stuck there by vanguard orders that she would later disregard anyway. Elsie, The titan of her fireteam, had managed to see through the hunters careful actions to remain hidden and found her as she was moving on, simultaneously stopping her from going anywhere until she had answers. Elsie didn't want to leave the hunter in the wild but after much stubborn arguing and threats, the titan settled into defeat on the condition that she alone could be aware of where she was at any given time so she could assist and be the hunters back up if she needed it.

The hunter brought her hands up to break the seal on her helmet, lifting it off her head and nodded with an appreciative smile. 'I think it was a false one' she admitted, "sorry for making you come out" she apologized awkwardly.

Elsie looked relieved but also worried in response. "It's ok" she shrugged, "I was in the area anyway..." she replied before looking more serious. "you should really be somewhere safer than this..." she continued looking hopeful, "Please, it's not long now, surely you can come back to the tower now" she sighed.

Beth shook her head, the mere thought making her feel ill imagining the looks and judgement she would face, not to mention the vanguard who was sure to be pissed at her. "No" she muttered before looking at Elsie with guilt, it was getting harder to say no with the clear concern in the titans features. "I just can't..." she muttered, eyeing the floor with irritated shame.

Elsie seemed to expect the answer and sighed "ok, ok, it was worth a try" she replied weakly before looking determined. "what about somewhere, or anywhere safer... you can't bring this child into the world here" she pushed gently, "I'll take you anywhere as long as it's safer' she promised.

Beth paused at the words and bit her lip. "I don't know where I should go" the hunter admitted thoughtfully before flinching as her baby kicked. The titan looked concerned but Beth silenced her by putting the titans armoured hand on her stomach. "It's just the little one complaining" she assured tiredly.

It was barely a moment before the titan smiled gently, all her concern sidelined as adoration took over at the babies little kicks. "That's never not going to feel weird' she admitted playfully before looking more serious, "listen, I have an idea, how about that bunker you fixed up on Venus?...".

Beth looked unsure at the words, "I told you about that?" She asked. she didn't recall sharing those details because she liked keeping her hiding spots private, she had become a bit forgetful in the later months though.

"You mentioned it but never told me where it was" Elsie admitted, "I won't tell anyone, promise, but you've got to be safer there right?".

The hunter gave it some thought, the fallen or vex had yet too or ever broken in there, so theoretically, Elsie was right. After a moment, she met the worried titans gaze reluctantly, "ok, but I won't be able to move from there I think.." she muttered, not looking forward to the flight or moving. Her gaze moved back to her stomach and softened, "I don't know... but i think it will be soon..." she admitted.

Elsie bit her lip thoughtfully and nodded, "then we don't have time to wait, I'll start packing up" she replied with determination. She didn't waste a second longer and got up, proceeding to pack up the camp neatly in less than ten minutes with the help of her ghost. The titan was an expert on the field and sometimes Beth forgot this but watching Elsie work, she envied both her freedom and the ease that she seemed to do everything with. When Elsie returned to the hunter, she took Beth's hands politely, "let me help you" she offered.

The hunter accepted the help gratefully and stood with an effortful grunt, feeling dizzy for a second as her mind caught up with her bodies sluggishness. The titan was quick to support her as she swayed a bit briefly, her balance was off because of the extra weight. "thanks" Anne muttered with embarrassment and relief. Normally the hunter didn't need help with anything, she worked on the field for months at a time alone, she preferred it that way and with her small and petite stature, she easily completed her work without being caught. of course now her petite frame was unbalanced and clumsy as her body was clearly not quite as limber with a heavy weight of her womb making her look even smaller that she already looked.

"Should I carry you?" Elsie asked with worry, waiting before letting the hunter go.

"No, it's ok" Beth assured stubbornly, reaching for her helmet on the ground. Elsie beat her to it however and put it in her hands before she could even consider bending over.

"Let's go in my ship, I'll get yours later" Elsie promised gently before leading the way out protectively. The hunter had been settled in an old apartment in what was the city center of somewhere golden age, it was crumbling due to age and it made cliff like sections on the way down as Beth had specifically looked for a place above eyesight since people and aliens alike were less likely to look there. The titan took to gently lifting the hunter down to the flatter areas until there were able to walk properly towards Elsie's Ship.

It was a few minutes until they reached the ship, a recognizable cargo type ship, about as strong and bulky as the titan herself. Black and red was painted neatly on the Hull, showing off her titan pride boldly. Elsie again helped by lifting the hunter up and onto the ship where the hatch was. inconvenient for the hunters current condition but Elsie made short work of ensuring the hunter barely had to move a muscle as she could effortlessly carry the hunter and lower her safely inside the ship. As they took off, Beth looked to the titan gratefully, "thanks for this Elsie".

Elsie focused on the controls for a moment as she set the ship to break orbit before looking over to Beth with a playful smile. "This is nothing" she mused, "I've had to deal with worse and frankly, a wind could still come and blow you over, there's still nothing on you miraculously" she teased before focusing back on flying.

The hunter wasn't sure if she should feel complimented or offended at the comment and simply huffed, rolling her eyes. "oh please... I'm pretty certain you're just a monster" Beth muttered, earning a laugh from Elsie.

The flight was mostly calm, lasting a few hours in which Beth caught up on some sleep while Elsie watched over her and the flight protectively. Everything was going well until they had to break through the Venus atmosphere and suddenly the hunter groaned to life, broken from sleep after a particularly heavy bump.

"You ok?" Elsie asked with concern, her concentration remained on the flight though as they were still breaking orbit.

"Yeah" Beth muttered with a wince, "It's just a bit rough" she admitted.

"It's almost over" Elsie promised apologetically, "where am I going?" She asked as she got ready to adjust their destination.

Beth was still a little reluctant but nodded, shifting stiffly as she replied. "go to the academy" Beth explained irritably, getting comfortable was impossible.

The words made the titan look concerned and she sighed with her own annoyance, "that area is full of fallen" she replied with concern.

Beth shrugged and held her hand out in front of her as her ghost transmatted a handcannon in her hands. "Nothing that I can't handle" Beth replied bluntly.

Elsie let out a stressed laugh and shook her head. "Haha, funny, but you're not going anywhere near a gun fight" she assured sternly, "I'll go ahead and you will stay back until it's safe" she ordered, eyeing the hunter expectantly.

"Ok, ok mother" Beth muttered, closing her eyes and setting her handcannon on her belt anyway, she took the time to rest as she felt a little ill.

It was another few minutes before the ship flew over the Ishtar academy and Elsie let down the ship in the specified transmat zone. while it was unusual to park properly in the wilds, this was a special occasion. The hunter had dozed off in the short amount of time but unfortunately Elsie had to wake her to move her to safety. Beth woke with a moody mutter and Elsie left her briefly to duck into the cargo bay, this time taking the time to head over to the bay controls. Normally, Elsie just used the hatch on the top of the ship to get in and out. it was more convenient because the cargo bay door was a bit stiff and often refused to open up from outside. the wires or something likely needed repairs but Elsie never really needed anything in the ship so she hadn't bothered getting it checked out. she spent a minute to get the cargo bay door down for Beth so she didn't have to be lifted again.

Beth joined the cargo bay just as Elsie got the door working and sighed as she finished sealing her helmet. "why don't you just get a new ship? you have had this one for literal years, just get a newer model" she muttered with irritation. Elsie's ship was in great condition for its age, granted but considering it had been through a few wars now, its age was certainly showing.

Elsie shrugged as she put her helmet on, ignoring the toxic air of Venus for the brief moment she was exposed to it. "i like this one, all i need is just for Amanda to take a look at it really" Elsie admitted,"i just never bother, it's not like i need the door to work properly with the amount of time I'm on the wall".

Once they were both out of the ship, it was all locked up and sent to the protected parking bay of Venus, the two guardians started a slow walk towards the academy. when they reached fallen infested areas the titan moved ahead and cleared the area before the hunter could move on. It was slow going since the hunter couldn't run, or more so, if she could, the titan wasn't letting her. They reached the front of the academy relatively quickly considering though as they were almost clear, Beth stopped in her tracks to lean against the nearest wall with a groan as pain started to spread through her body in slow waves. she didn't get much further before having to lean on one of the nearby cement poles for support as her breath was knocked out of her with another unexpected burst of pain as she stepped up towards the academy entrance stairs.

Elsie was nearby but leading the way so that she could see and dispatch any enemies they ran into but she quickly returned to Beth's side with concern "Hey, you ok?" she asked.

Beth stood quietly for a moment, focusing herself before nodding and replying breathlessly. "yeah, I'm ok.. just- ugh". Beth was cut off with a pained grunt as she bore the damage of an explosive arc blast near her feet, suddenly flinching as the sounds of bullets came from above, a fallen skiff slowed above them, the obvious culprit.

The distraction of Beth's condition had been enough to catch the titan off guard but not for long as she immediately put up a shield before she saw adds drop in front of her. 'stay there' Elsie ordered before rushing out into the fray, a shotgun appearing in her hands.

Beth straightened up, gritting her teeth to turn and face the fallen, mostly so she could keep track of them before more pain rocked through her and she struggled to stay on her feet for a moment as she staggered. The moment was long enough that when she looked up, she was greeted by a dregs knife In her chest and she gasped with surprise before falling backwards, landing with another pained grunt, tearing up as pain overwhelmed her.

Elsie returned at that moment and the dreg barely got a chance to look at the hunter again before it disintegrated in a fiery rage. The titan kneeled down and picked her up gently, sounding guilty. "ok, tell me where to go" she urged, a path of decimated adds behind her.

Beth nodded and pointed up the stairs towards the buildings entrance, "there's an elevator shaft" she muttered between heavy breaths, a hand on her stomach protectively while the other gripped Elsie's chest armour tightly.

Dust appeared and started floating ahead to lead the way. "follow me, I'll get us in" she urged with worry.

By the time they had made it down, Beth was beginning to whimper and pant so the titan was quick to get her inside the bunker as soon as Dust could let them in. "you look after her, I'll deal with life support" Dust spoke before entering the computer systems with a a flash of white light. The bunker was once a research lab, that much Elsie could tell in the dim. the titan was momentarily impressed before getting back to the job at hand and she gently laid the hunter down in the bedroom. It looked like it was designed for a team but the hunter had obviously set it up for herself over the years, one bed was set up in the center of the room with a bunch of personal items nearby. This was where she laid the hunter and as the lights flickered on, Elsie's heart sank. she was suddenly seeing a lot more blood that she was expecting.

Beth already looked weak as she pulled her helmet off gasping before crying out in a pained whimper, her hands searched for the titans. Elsie didn't hesitate to give her hands and the hunter gripped them tightly for a moment before relaxing a bit. 'it's time' she breathed weakly, looking to Elsie with tearful fear and coughing heavily, blood surfacing from her lips.

Elsie seemed to freeze in a moment of fear before nodding and taking her helmet off, her panic rising as she tried to think straight. "right... ok, um... I'll be back" she replied quickly, getting up and sprinting out of the room. She returned barely a minute later with some supplies before starting to take off the hunters armour as quickly and gently as possible. after a few minutes dust returned to her guardian looking concerned and a little lost.

"Can you heal her?" Elsie asked with concern as she worked urgently.

the cat-shelled ghost flinched before floating loser to the hunter looking uncertain. "I don't know" dust admitted with concern, "I don't know what affects the baby... Ill try" she replied weakly before scanning the hunter and concentrating. The wound in her chest closed up after a second but the damage had already been done as Beth already looked exhausted as her breath was becoming labored, she looked as though she was about to pass out. Elsie had gotten rid of most of her constricting armour and put a sheet over the hunter so her ghost could take off the hunters body suit with dignity. She finally put a bunch of pillows behind the hunters back and raised her gently. This was about where the titan looked just as clueless as the hunter's ghost.

Beth breathed slowly and looked at the titan with weak appreciation, taking her hand with all the determination she could manage. "do what you have to to save her ok? I'll be fine" she spoke, almost begged. the words were heavy, Beth was expecting to die at this point.

Deep down the titan knew she was right, Beth could respawn at will but the baby however, no one knew if the baby would survive that. Being put in charge of such a big responsibility was terrifying, running field operations was nothing compared to this but Elsie nodded and squeezed the hunters hand supportively. "don't worry, I got this" she replied weakly, determined to do her best but she wasn't sure yet where she was finding the strength.

Beth gave her a pained smile before groaning with pain and gasping weakly, the next few minutes stretched into half an hour and while beth managed to hold on, she was waiting. when she finally felt like she had to push, The hunter squeezed Elsie's hand with such force that the titan didn't know where she got the strength, but she did her best to try and comfort the hunter as she painfully gave the rest of her strength to the task ahead of her.

After a few minutes though, the hunter could barely bring up the will to stay awake let alone push and with one last weak attempt, she passed out much to Elsie's dismay, things had fallen onto her. After trying and failing to wake the hunter briefly, she swallowed heavily, Beth was still alive but barely. Elsie had researched childbirth and sometimes children had to be cut from their mothers. for a civilian, this could easily mean death, they didn't have the luxury of a ghost, however the chances of survival were generally good in the hands of an expert. Elsie was no expert and with the prospect of having to do this herself, she felt sick but she didn't have time to linger on it, tearing up.

Elsie knew what to do and pulled a knife from her armour before hesitating for a moment. normally she didn't carry knives, but she had carried this ever since she had learned about what she might have to do. in the brief moment of hesitation, Sparks appeared beside her and turned on her light to assist 'come on Elsie, you don't have time' sparks urged.

Elsie nodded with a deep breath to focus herself before ripping the sheet with her hands, her strength made it an almost effortless task. she revealed just the hunters stomach before taking another deep breath and cutting carefully into the hunters flesh with her knife, sharpened especially for this event. This seemed to vaguely make the hunter groan in her unconscious state but it didn't make her wake.

Naturally Beth started bleeding immediately which made things more challenging but sparks lit the area and a projection of where Elsie had to cut showed her how to continue despite not seeing everything properly. Dust could barely watch but did so to keep track of the hunters vitals and about halfway though she looked almost relieved. 'she's gone, your running out of time' she urged with fear.

This made Elsie feel both better but also worse and she carefully kept going. the fact that Beth was dead was good because she wasn't feeling the pain anymore but it meant the baby was in even more danger. It felt like hours despite being only minutes until finally Elsie managed to get through to the baby and with great care, pulled out the child, wrapping it up in a towel. The child was ominously silent and despite how well Elsie had been doing to keep herself collected, she now started panicking, forgetting everything. sparks was quick to float over supportively, "calm down, it's ok, remember what we read" she soothed.

Elsie shook her head quickly looking more than flustered and tearful. "I don't remember" she replied quickly, "I don't know what to do" she gushed with fear.

sparks nodded and nudged her cheek. "it's ok, Put the baby on her belly and rub her back, remember? just breathe, focus" she soothed gently.

Elsie nodded and did as she was told, she was good at doing as she was told. she vaguely remembered the words now sparks had said them and she gently held the baby and tried to clear its airways. It was a long minute before the room was filled with weak cries and Elsie sighed with relief as she wrapped the baby up and kept following her ghosts careful instructions.

The titan felt dizzy and sick when she was finally done, she felt like she herself was going to pass out but the tiny baby in her arms told her that she couldn't do that yet. Dust had waited until the worst had passed before she focused her attention on her guardian. sine she was already dead, there was no rush to bring her back and finally set about healing the wounds before letting the body fade into light after scanning her.

It was about a minute later of carefully reconfiguring the light before dust felt confident in resurrecting her guardian and Beth finally phased into existence in the centre of the room. the hunter stood for a moment in just her bio suit before collapsing to the floor weakly with a heavy cough and after a moment she finally crawled to her hands and knees, a hand finally reaching for her tender stomach before looking scared. The hunter looked rough, but finally looked around confused. "Elsie?" She called weakly.

"Over here" Elsie replied gently, waving to get the hunters attention.

Beth seemed to have trouble pinpointing where the voice had come from but on noticing Elsie, she crawled over to her weakly. the titan had made herself comfortable on the floor against a wall, she was covered in blood still but the baby herself was clean and tidy, sleeping peacefully in the titans arms and wrapped in a thick blanket.

The hunter joined her weakly before leaning against her shoulder in breathless pain. "please say she made it..." she whispered, almost begged.

"she's right here" Elsie's assured gently, "she hasn't left my arms and won't until you take her"..

Beth seemed slow to respond but as she processed the words, they seemed to please the hunter as she sighed with relief, closing her eyes tearfully. "thank you..." she murmured weakly.

"Hey, I'd never let anything happen to those under my charge" Elsie chuckled, sounding a lot stronger than she currently felt, "you should know that by now" she smiled.

The hunter looked at her gratefully but didn't seem to be able to focus on her but she was clearly not ok. "you're my hero" she murmured before closing her eyes and finally allowed herself too fall unconscious once more.

Elsie took a deep breath and fought off the worry, after all, the hunter could be revived if necessary but she seemed stable, just exhausted, she hoped. She however knew that she needed to get the hunter into bed and the bed they were using currently was ruined. The titan very carefully held the baby on one arm and shifted the hunter with her other so she could get up. She very gently let the hunter lie down on the floor before carefully setting the baby down on a bunk nearby and hesitated. after a tiny stir, she kept sleeping so the titan backed away as quietly as she could in her full set of armour before sparks took it off for her. "Thanks" Elsie whispered weakly.

'Your welcome, I'll watch them for you' sparks continued before going to float above the baby protectively.

Elsie begin by carefully replacing the whole bed, blood had soaked through the bed making it useless, not to mention the sheets were filthy. she ditched them in the main area for now and replaced the bed with a new one before making it as quietly and cleanly as possible. Beth was her next mission and she gently picked up the hunter before realizing she'd gotten filthy when she had crawled over to the titan.

She gave the baby a concerned glance before heading to the shower with the unconscious awoken, stripping the hunter gently before doing the same with a bit of an uncomfortable blush. while she enjoyed thee female form, especially Beth's when she was on top of her game, she didn't like having to handle someone without permission. frankly, this was not something she ever imagined she would do but she carefully gave the hunter a shower since there was no other option. She washed herself off as well which helped her feel a bit better and after wrapping the hunter and herself with a towel each, she put Beth to bed and set to drying her hair a little bit before tucking her in, she then went back to the baby with a tired sigh, choosing to also stay in her towel for now.

The baby itself was beautiful, her skin a pale violet and light danced on her skin vibrantly, Elsie had never seen an awoken shine this brightly, even after a resurrection. when she opened her eyes, they were bright white with no pupils that Elsie could see, maybe they would set in later but for now, Elsie didn't know. she'd never seen an awoken baby let alone could find out anything about them. Right now the baby was sleeping soundly and Elsie decided to take the time to make herself a proper bed before finally picking up the baby as carefully as if she were china. after carefully getting herself into bed and laying down on her side, she cuddled the baby close to her chest so she could keep it warm and safe while her mother recovered. She wasn't intending on falling asleep so soon but within minutes she was dead to the world, exhausted from the stress of the day, her arms locked protectively around the defenseless child.


	2. Titan's Watch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A titan doing what they do best, protecting their fireteam, big or small.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally trying to get around to editing my work, trying my best of course. I'll be editing and titling the chapters as I go. I hope the edits actually help, feel free to review. 
> 
> (Beth/Dust (Boa/Pyli) Russian-Hunter)  
> (Elsie/Spark (Captain/Iskra) Russian-Titan)  
> (Skye/Hope (Arctic/Esperer) French-Warlock)

Beth stirred hours later in a dim room, there were lights on but not where they were. At the moment of movement, the hunter groaned painfully as her body was still badly beat up but she paid little attention to this as she looked around in fear when she didn't see Elsie right away. She could tell the titan had put her to bed at some point which she appreciated, she was wrapped in a towel still so she had been showered as well. As she sat up, pain flared through her, bringing tears to her eyes and a bright light almost blinded her as dust lit up the area around her as gently as possible. "you ok?" She asked gently.

"Pyli? Where's Elsie?" Beth asked weakly, her voice cracking despite her best efforts to try and sound like she wasn't as much of a mess as she was.

"she's asleep with your daughter" Dust whispered before she motioned toward the sleeping two in a bunk by the wall. "she looks exhausted..." dust continued gently. even in the dim light, once Beth's eyes had adjusted, she could barely see the lightly glowing form of the titan curled around a dark mass of cloth. Elsie didn't even stir to the light in room so she must have been dead to the world.

The hunter was relieved to see them both and started crying silently with a mix of happy pain, just knowing where they were was enough to tip her emotions over the edge at thee moment. "I won't wake her then..." Beth murmured. She wanted to hold and see her child however so she quietly got up with a whimper. It was hard to convince her body to move, let alone hold her weight but the hunter was determined, finally collapsing in front of Elsie's bunk silently.

"You should really rest" dust urged gently but the hunter ignored her and sat quietly beside the bed to gaze at her child hiding in the thick wrappings. Elsie must have heard the approach in her sleep as she protectively held the child a little tighter as if someone was going to take her, she didn't wake up though. Seeing this, Beth smiled and decided there and then she wouldn't even try. She was too weak to fight the titan and even if she was full strength she knew she would never win. She settled on resting a hand gently on the pile of blankets and resting against the bed before dozing off where she sat. That's where Elsie found her when she woke with a start as the baby started to whine. she didn't sleep well, she felt as if she'd slept in war zone, just a second away from danger and hyper alert for any noise that might have been the baby in her arms. Beth herself stirred sluggishly a moment later as she felt the movement of the bunk behind her causing accidental pain.

"Morning" Elsie mused gently as she sat up carefully, holding the squirming child close and protectively, "I could use your help if your up to it" she added gently. Beth nodded as she blinked away exhaustion and got up a bit unsteadily. Elsie took her hand and led her to sit down beside her before carefully putting the baby in Beth's arms. "let me know if you feel too weak to keep holding her ok" Elsie warned gently, it was quite clear that Beth was still very much wounded from her ordeal. "it's time for a feed" she smiled, "I'm sure you don't need me to tell you how to do that" Elsie teased lightly.

Beth nodded with sleepy determination and rolled her eyes, finding the energy to sass the titan somehow. "I think i can figure it out" she muttered as pulled out her breast to feed the now bawling child. the girl fought her mother for a moment before realizing she was being fed and calmed down quickly as she drank away. Beth had a naturally cold demeanor normally, her condition had barely cracked the facade but now she watched the little girl with subtle pride. she managed to hold out until the girl seemed content before her strength started failing her and Elsie was there before she'd even had the chance to think about saying anything.

Elsie supported her arms lightly until Beth was ready to hand her over and the titan carefully took the child back proudly. "well done" Elsie encouraged, "I'll do the rest" she promised before putting a hand on her shoulder lightly, "-and then you can cuddle with her" she assured gently.

Beth was about to find a weak argument before being silenced by Elsie's words, a part of her felt ashamed for not having the health to look after herself or her child. she watched quietly as the titan expertly burped the child before checking the nappy and disappearing to the other room for a few minutes. when Elsie returned, she pulled the hunter gently to her feet and helped her get back to her bed. Beth looked briefly confused, remembering the promise of cuddles and she wanted to argue for a second before realizing what Elsie was intending and she did as she was told, weakly settling into bed. Elsie then put the child beside her and tucked them both in before crouching beside them. "see, that wasn't hard" she mused with a smile before looking thoughtful, "you know, she still needs a name'.

Beth looked a bit surprised, in her foggy mind, she had somewhat forgotten you had to do that and she half expected elsie to have named her already. "she doesn't have one yet?" Beth questioned tiredly, enjoying being able to lay with her child. the baby was already starting to doze off in her arms, looking around vaguely with pupiless glowing eyes and brightly pulsing cheeks.

Elsie nodded with a chuckle, "of course not, her mother wasn't able to give her one yet' she replied playfully. "she was sleeping on the job" she teased.

Beth gave a small smile and teared up as she was overwhelmed by emotion making her sigh with annoyance, she hated showing emotions so easily but her condition wasn't helpful. "I am so done with these tears" she muttered before softening and looking to elsie. she barely remembered half of what had happened but she knew one thing for certain, Elsie had saved this child's life by herself with only guidance from her ghost. "I want you to name her" Beth admitted with a light blush.

Elsie looked surprised at the words and cleared her throat feeling her own wave of emotion caused by the suggestion, wiping away some tears of her own. "are you sure?" She asked weakly, "that's a big decision... and kind of permanent" she admitted awkwardly.

Beth nodded and lifted a hand to catch Elsie's lightly. "you're the reason she is here, you deserve the honor" she replied before giving a small smile, "plus... i'm too tired to think of one myself".

The titan paused, she hadn't really given much thought about her part in the child's ongoing survival. the titan was usually quite cheerful and obnoxious but for the moment, she seemed subdued before returning her gaze to the hunter with mild concern. "so much pressure..." she chuckled weakly, "what if its a dumb name? you know how titans are" she joked, "all fist, no thought".

"you will think of something" the hunter assured sleepily, "i think you're worrying too much..." Beth teased before managing to look cheeky, "have i unnerved the great Elsie?" she mused before squeezing the titan's hand supportively, "plus, i can change it if i don't like it" Beth admitted.

Elsie looked thoughtful, Beth had a point, it wasn't like the little girl was capable of caring at this point. the titan shifted her gaze to the little girl in her mothers arms, a bright and helpless little bundle of hope. "how about... evalina?" Elsie asked with a tired sigh, "I don't know how old that name is" she admitted with a chuckle, honestly she couldn't remember where she heard it. it was the first name she thought of and it felt like it meant something to her. "i'm not sure is it's a... what do they say? 'Hip'' name" she mused.

Beth gave it some thought before nodding "it's beautiful" she sighed peacefully, "I love it, I'll have to argue for titan's on this one.. sometimes titans can come up with something good occasionally" she teased lightly. "thank you Elsie" she continued with an exhausted murmur, sleep beginning to claim her.

The titan smiled with a laugh and shifted to set the hunters hand gently on the little bundle of cloth. "oh now i think you are just sucking up" she replied playfully before softening, "I'm glad i could help". Elsie stood up with a heavy sigh, she was clearly just as tired as Beth in her own way, the only thing missing was the pain of course. "you two get some rest now, I'll be here' Elsie assured gently.

Beth nodded sleepily before eyeing Elsie. The awoken women still wore just a towel and was clearly not fussed by it despite the somewhat loose hold it had on her from sleeping. she was a bit of a mess, her usual militaristic bob was frayed and out of place compared her usual immaculate appearance. it gave Beth an unintended look at her protector when she wasn't wearing her thick metal shell, a rare sight in itself. she stood tall, and not just in height, she wore her pride on her sleeve even when she was off duty but exhaustion hung off her shoulders heavily. her strength was clear in her physique even if she was beggining the feel the pressure of the situation.

'Get some sleep' beth ordered gently, "you look exhausted... we should be ok for a while" she assured.

Elsie looked like she wanted to argue but hesitated, looking uncomfortabble at the thought of letting down her guard properly. at least if she had the newly named evaline with her, she would know if she was in danger. she finally gave a stiff nod as sleep pulled at her stubbornly, "ok, but you give me a call the second you need help ok" she ordered sternly, eyeing beth expectantly. Beth gave her a nod and elsie gave a final reluctant nod before heading back to her bed, she was asleep within minutes. Beth just enjoyed cuddling her daughter for a little bit before sleep claimed her as well.

The next few days were a concerned mess of worries as Beth's health went up and down while her daughter was quite happy and healthy thanks to the surprisingly gentle titan's care. not a thought had been given to where people thought either of them were until sparks pulled Elsie aside from her new duties. "I'm worried' sparks begun quietly.

elsie looked up to sparks as she lifted the newly dressed and changed tot up to her chest, moving to rock lightly as she worked to calm the grumpy little awoken. "what about my kroshka?" She replied affectionately, smiling to the ghhost. despite her on going levels of exhaustion from nursing almost 24/7 she was in good spirits and seemingly enjoying her time almost.

the neon shelled ghost looked uncomfortable as she looked to elsie, "You've missed over twenty attempts to contact you..." she explained awkwardly before concern took over. "I'm worried someone is going to come find us" sparks admitted, "you know we can't hide forever... I checked how much supplies we have and we are going to run low in a few days, I'm not sure you will be able to leave at all and if you do...' she sighed, trailing off.

elsie bit her lip looking thoughtful, she hated to admit it but the same thoughts had crossed her mind. "who has been contacting me?" She asked lightly, starting to pace absentmindedly as she soothingly rubbed evaline's back. the girl had quieted her whinging and now simply enjoyed being held to the titan's chest although she seemed almost disappointed as Elsie wasn't quite as feminine as Beth. her physique, even while on show in a tank top was well built, not well padded and she must have been getting hungry.

"Commander zavala, ikora... but mostly Skye. she has attempted contact at least six times today alone!" sparks explained hesitatantly, "she left a message too". The ghost expanded, creating a bubble of light around her eye and started to replay the message she had recieved. it spoke of a tearful Skye begging that she at least talk.

"there's no way that your dead" she accused in angry sadness, "so please... respond... I won't ask too many questions..." skye promised gently before pausing to sniffle. "I just need answers..." the upset voice finished, ending the message. the voice was sweet with an odd accent, a supposedly an ancient one called french.

The message hit home hard and Elsie felt both happy to hear the warlock's voice, yet also like she had betrayed her by following beth into her reclusive havbits. the titan tossed some options through her mind until evaline started fussing as she came to an absent stop. Elsie turned her attention to the child for a moment with a loving chuckle, soothing her gently. "hey, none of that" she mused lovingly as she continued to rub her back lightly. This did the job and evaline quietened so Elsie could focus back on sparks with a sigh, "let's talk to pyli..." she finally replied.

Dust seemed to hear her Russian name and appeared in front of the two protectively in response. only beth and elsie called her by that name because most other people found it strange to pronounce, though it was the same for spark's Russian name, iskra. in fact, when the hunter and titan were together by themselves, they preferred to speak Russian, or more to the point, ancient russian. they enjoyed the rare ability to actually speak their pre-guardian language. they spoke an ancient form of Russian that while the language still existed, the years since the collapse had turned modern Russian into a largely different language.

"Is everything ok?" Dust asked with concern.

Elsie gave her a warm smile and nodded, "yes, of course" she started, "it's nothing to do with you guys" Elsie admitted gently before looking unsure. dust looked relieved for a second before looking as though she feared the titans next words and the titan continued. "but Skye..." Elsie begun, "she is very worried". the titan shifted to sit down at the dining room table where she had just prior changed the little awoken tyke. "look, I know you guys want to keep this place secret and i totally get it... but, we are going to need supplies eventually" Elsie explained, looking directly to dust. "pyli, if I leave here for supplies... i don't know whether I'll be able to come back right away" she admitted, "they will want answers and you surely know this.." Elsie sighed. the information was hard to say but it was true, the vanguard would not let this slide if she had to return to the tower alone, not to mention, Beth was physically and mentally unable to look after her child alone yet.

Dust nodded stiffly as the facts settled into her shell heavily, she too had been thinking about it but had tried not to knowing the complications the problems would create. "we need you right now..' the cat-shelled ghost muttered with concern, "I think beth is getting better now but she still can't do everything by herself for at least another few weeks at least and I can't do anything...' she finished in defeat.

Elsie nodded with a just as guilty sigh, "I know..." she replied gently before she looked thoughtful. "i have an idea... i just need you to hear me out ok?" elsie offered hesitantly. and recieving a careful nod from dust, the titan continued. "what if skye came here? By herself of course" she explained sternly, "and she could bring everything we needed without the drama". elsie motioned to the door lightly, "I'll go meet her and bring her here, make sure no one follows, all that jazz" she assured. "That way I don't have to leave for good, skye can bring us the supplies we need until we head home" she explained, looking to dust and judging her reaction.

Dust seemed to give it some thought before nodding hesitantly, it was the only way to preserve what they had right now and she knew it. "we can trust skye" she agreed slowly, "but only skye, Beth doesn't want extra attention" she explained assertively.

Elsie looked relieved at the ghost decision and nodded, bringing a hand up too give her a playful salute. "noted" she teased before sighing as her thoughts went to how she was going to contact skye. after a moment she continued, "ok, I'll send her a message in a bit, but not from here" she assured. "I'll go to somewhere else so we can't get tracked" she explained before looking sternly to dust, "you will message me if anything happens when I leave".

Dust nodded and turned her gaze to evalina with love before returning her gaze to the titan with admiration. "you are doing wonderfully by the way... I don't think I have mentioned it" she admitted shyly, "we couldn't do it without you".

Elsie smiled with a light blush, although it barely showed on her pale skin. "I'm just stumbling through it all" she admitted with a light chuckle, "I thought I was going to be too rough you know, being a titan and all". elsie paused to shift her gaze affectionately to the little awoken that she cradled in her arms "I guess I'm not usually as delicate as maybe a hunter or warlock... and i don't necessarily mean just my strength.." she added. with a tired sigh, she continued gently "don't get me wrong, i can run a battlefield but well, its quite different to look after such a precious little thing" she mused.

"You could have fooled us" dust teased gently before floating over to elsie's cheek gratefully, "thank you".

The peace was broken by a weak call from the bedroom and Elsie stood and moved towards the call instantly. Beth was awake again and she looked relieved to see the titans appearance. Elsie settled on the edge of the bed gently, careful not to upset evalina in the process. 'you know, it's like you think I'm going to leave" she mused playfully.

Beth blushed a bit at the accusation, there was definitely a part of her that was concerned about it. "no I... I guess the thought scares me..' she admitted awkwardly, avoiding elsies eyes briefly in shame.

"I'm not leaving" Elsie replied sternly, "so get rid of the thought". after a moment of thought, she softened before gently putting evaline beside her mother lovingly. "here you go" Elsie mused, "she's all clean and happy, why don't you look after her for a little".

Beth bit her lip awkwardly before lighting up on recieving the baby girl, smiling a little with a nod. "I can do that" she assured, "thank you". It was charming, the hunter held evaline as if she would break the tiny child and gazed at her for hours I silence if she was allowed too, just admiring how beautiful she was. Elsie had come to enjoy watching the two interact and while they were both occupied, she made herself busy with other things.

Elsie waited until the hunter and child was both sleeping again before heading out to deal with the supply problems, there was a part of her that didn't want to leave for even a second but knowing she had to, she made it quick. Elsie didn't put her armour on because she decided to just go outside a bit, not nearly far enough to worry about encountering ads. After climbing the elevator shaft, and crouching in a corner of the lobby out of sight, Elsie looked at sparks with a nod "contact her".

It was barely a second after the communication request went through before skye picked up, her voice betraying her emotions as the her sweet french voice was heavy with concern. "Traveller help me!... There you are" she sighed with relief before her voice switch to shaky anger, "you are so dead when I find you" she threatened weakly. "are you ok? are you with Anne? Is she ok? What about-".

The titan cut her off quickly getting overwhelmed with all the questions at once. "woah woah... one thing at a time please" she sighed, "I haven't got nearly enough sleep to even process that" she replied with guilt. "start again, slower" she added gently before sounding sincere, "i'll answer what i can"

The warlock took a deep breath and after a second to control herself, continnued. "ok.. sorry... I'm just-", skye was cut off before she could finish.

"Worried, I know... but I'll tell you now, we are doing just fine, all of us" elsie assured before starting to cough, only now remembering that venus air was toxic in long stretches. "Blyad, I gotta make this quick" she sighed, before speaking a lot more urgently now. "listen, I need you to come here and find me, just you alone and i need you to bring me some supplies" she urged gently.

Skye thought for a moment before replying, "where even are you, your hiding your co-ordinates-".

elsie cut her off again quickly, "The Ishtar academy, I can't tell you more than that, I'm sorry, can I send you a list of things to bring? I need a few weeks worth of supplies, and I can't leave right now" she explained, "please?".

"Of course" Skye replied quickly sounding determined, "send it and I'll take off as soon as possible" she promised.

"thank you! send me a message when you get here and I'll meet you" elsie promised before coughing harder, silently cursing her tired stupidity. "I gotta go, I didn't bring my helmet" she explained apologetically, "silly me I know, but I'm tired, fly safe".

there was a short moment of skye realizing what that meant before she replied quickly. "go, get inside, I'll message you later" she promised before the call ended just abruptly as it had begun.

With the call finished sparks floated beside Elsie anxiously as the titan made her way back inside the bunker, retreating as quickly as elsie could climb down without hurting herself further. the titan was finding it hard to breathe by the time they had gotten back inside, the cause showed itself as she broke into a heavy coughing fit, blood surfacing in her hand as she covered her mouth. she sat down at the door for a moment focusing on just trying to breathe while sparks healed her as quickly as she could manage it. "remind me to wear a helmet next time" elsie murmured between heavy breaths.

"i cant believe we forgot!" sparks replied weakly, "im so sorry! i should have remembered".

elsie chuckled and caught the ghost lovingly, clearly not upset. "well, at least we know what happens when you don't wear a heelmet on venus now" she joked playfully before pressing the ghost to her chest lightly in a hug, "thank you my kroshka". sparks relaxed in the hug, appreciating the affection happily before elsie let her finish her heal. after a few added minutes to recover, Elsie checked on the hunter again. she was still out so Elsie took the opportunity to rest further while she could.


	3. An Angel in Armour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The lovely warlock of fireteam russian roulette appears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Beth/Dust (Boa/Pyli) Russian-Hunter)  
> (Elsie/Spark (Captain/Iskra) Russian-Titan)  
> (Skye/Hope (Arctic/Esperer) French-Warlock)

While it was pretty busy for Elsie, Beth and dust for various different reasons, spark's duties were different and near non-existent. normally in situations like this, she would talk to Elsie or watch crucible, if she was desperate, she had the vanguard network to watch. the bunker however had no signal by design, Elsie was sleeping when she had the chance and Beth was in recovery so sparks was well and truly bored. to quell her boredom, she instead acted as the messenger.

at first, the little neon-shelled ghost was scared of going out by herself, she took the steps of changing her shell to a more subtle one that she carried with her for these sort of conditions and sparks settled into the remains of a lobby, the very same that she and Elsie had called from to speak to Skye. there was the shattered remains of a desk there that she would sit in, hiding herself from the gaze of any friendly or enemy. she'd even set up a little ghost stealth tent that hid her own signal yet still allowed her to communicate so she ended up getting kinda comfortable camping outside. she was here when Skye requested contact, her ghost named hope sent a ping from the landing zone of venus.

A only a day had passed since the call which mildly surprised sparks and she opened up comms cheerfully, "you two didn't waste any time" she greeted.

"of course not!" another digital voice replied quickly, female like her guardian. "we finally get to help!" hope sighed sighed.

"exactly, so do we come to your location?" a guardians voice asked among the sound of rustling in the background.

sparks floated up in surprise that they were this ready, "wait, uh, I'm not with Elsie at the moment" she argued quickly. "I need some time to prepare her so we can meet you, can you wait?" she asked hopefully.

There was a hesitant pause that was followed by a sigh, "ok, we can wait here until we get the order" Skye agreed. "Five more minutes won't hurt" she added with a disappointment.

Sparks looked apologetic, feeling guilty to make them wait. "I'll be as quick as possible" she promised, "I'll contact you soon! I just hope Elsie isn't sleeping".

"Sleeping?" Skye asked with surprise, "oh, I didn't know... don't rush her if she's tired" she pushed with embarrassment. "Of course... take all the time you need, I can wait" Skye promised, clearly guilty of not thinking of the possibility.

"Thank you" sparks replied with relief, she knew Elsie wouldn't want to keep her waiting but the ghost didn't want to put extra pressure on her if she could avoid it. As she closed comms, sparks ducked out of the desk carefully to check the coast was clear before heading back down to the safety of the bunker.

Last time sparks was down here was an hour ago and Elsie had been up, attempting to calm Evaline. Sleep or the lack of was starting to impede Elsie's ability to calm her so she was having a hard time trying to get the child to sleep. As sparks transmatted into the room, she half expected to see Elsie up still but all was silent which meant a worser fate, she'd finally been able to sleep and sparks would have to wake her.

The ghost's predictions were true as she floated to the bedroom door to find the titan in her bunk, sleeping lightly. Elsie looked exhausted yet content as she had the awoken child cuddled up to her side, even her tiny moods didn't seem to dampen the titan's affections for her. Sparks was half tempted to see if she could beg Skye to wait for Elsie to get some sleep, but she knew Elsie would be upset if she did that. With a defeated sigh, sparks finally floated over to nudge Elsie's cheek with guilt and the titans flinched, waking with a start, it was enough to in turn, frighten the young awoken awake too.

Elsie gave a deep sigh of defeat as she sat up tiredly, gently starting to nurse the grumpy child with muttered Russian curses before finally looking to sparks. "Da iskra?" She murmured sleepily, her words a bit hard to understand in her state combined with her accent.

Sparks shrunk with guilt as she replied, "I'm sorry... Skye has landed... I didn't want to wake you but...".

Elsie took a second to register the words and nodded, giving the ghost a gentle smile. she wasn't upset it seemed and she lifted a hand to catch the ghost lovingly. "It's ok my kroshka, I'm not angry, you're just doing your job" she assured before pressing a kiss on her shell, "I can sleep later" she mused.

Sparks looked grateful that she wasn't mad but as she was freed, she couldn't help but continue to feel guilty as Elsie stood stiffly. Evaline was not having it though as she continued to whine grumpily despite the titans best efforts. After almost ten minutes had passed, it was quite clear that the stress of the situation was not very helpful in trying to get the child to sleep long enough to bring Skye here safely. every time she would set the child down, Evaline would start to cry again. Elsie finally settled in the cafeteria with defeat and looked to sparks, "I can't leave her with Beth..." she muttered.

It was true, while Elsie had no qualms in leaving the child with her mother, Beth had been up with a high fever the night before and had finally been able to get some decent sleep herself. She needed all the rest she could get if she was ever going to be well enough to look after Evaline herself. "What are you suggesting?" Sparks asked with a hint of fear, the only other option was leaving her here alone, after all it was too dangerous to take her with. Elsie was quiet for a moment, as if considering her options before looking to sparks once more. The titan had to go but it looked as though Evaline might have to come with as horrifying that thought was. "I need to speak with Pyli" Elsie finally spoke.

Dust of course was hyper alert to her name being mentioned, she didn't sleep at all in these times of stress and so she appeared instantly on demand. "Yes Elsie?" She asked with worry. She saw the titans exhaustion as much as sparks but she knew she couldn't say anything about it, this was her guardians fault of course.

"Skye is here" Elsie sighed with defeat, "I need to go out for five" she explained before looking at Evaline. "she doesn't want to stay calm" the titan explained before moving her gaze to dust, "I can't put her down...".

"I see the problem" dust nodded, looking thoughtful. It was important to get the supplies Skye had so she knew Elsie needed to go one way or another. The ghost finally looked a bit guilty, "if I could... I would look after her but-... can Skye wait?" She asked awkwardly.

Elsie bit her lip, in truth, she would simply be glad to see another person. the supplies could technically wait but it didn't sit right to have Skye wait for potentially hours until she could go. The titan finally looked back to dust and nodded "probably..." Elsie sighed, "but she has some things that I-we need and i don't entirely want her to leave..".

Dust looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding, expecting the answer but still hoping for another one. The little cat was quiet for a moment as she considered her options and finally looked to Elsie. "I have an idea... I'll go with you" she offered, floating over to scan the child thoughtfully. "I think this will work" she admitted, after a moment the wrapped up baby was surrounded with light as she became wrapped up with jumpsuit fabric before a helmet covered her head and blankets creating a seal. it made Evaline look as though she was in a little pod. "I'll watch her and keep her breathing" dust explained before eying Elsie with a sigh, the next request was almost a stupid one. "you just need to protect her" dust finished, "easy right?".

Elsie considered the thought for a moment, she hated the idea, but if there was anything she could do, it was protect her. She finally looked to the cat-shelled ghost with an impressed nod. "Easy" she agreed.

With their next action decided, Elsie gently set the wrapped up child on the table and stood. With out a word, sparks transmatted her Armour on and she quickly picked the Evaline up again as she started to fuss. Dust however looked taken aback, staring at the titan with almost disturbed surprise. It took a second to realize but Elsie looked to the ghost with tired confusion, "what's wrong?" She asked.

Dust looked a little hesitant before replying, "Oh... just... your Armour..." she pointed out. "I guess you haven't had a chance to clean it.." she admitted gently.

Elsie gave her Armour a confused glance and realized that she was still covered in Beth's blood, it made her stomach turn slightly. "blyad... well I can't deal with that now" she sighed. "I'd forgotten" she muttered a little grumpily, silently cursing her own forgetfulness. "lets go and make this quick" she nodded as she shifted Evaline to one arm, allowing for a hand cannon to be put in the other. She attached it to her belt before making the climb out of the elevator shaft.

Elsie hesitated slightly as they left the bunker, a deep sense of dread settling into the pit of her stomach at the mere thought of taking the grumpy little girl into a dangerous place but it had to be done. When they reached the surface, dust hid in evaline's makeshift armour and shielded her with a thicker than normal shield, focusing the light that would normally cover Beth to instead cover the little awoken set against Elsie's chest. "I'll make it so she can't hear anything" dust assured as she silenced the outside world, "do what you need to do".

Elsie nodded and gave her tiny package a glance before moving outside with a deep breath, she hated this. "open the comms" she ordered gently. The unfortunate thing about their bunker was that the stairs leading into the academy was a great choke point, limiting the area meant that the fallen could control who did and didn't pass through. It was expected that there were fallen outside and she wasn't disappointed as a small group of fallen had indeed set up camp there. the first thing elsie did at the top of the stairs was put up a shield before half stepping through it, leaving evaline on the protective side and she started picking off the surprised fallen with her hand cannon. "skye, come in" she spoke out loud through comms.

"I'm here!" Skye responded quickly with concern, "are you fighting? Where are you, I'll help".

"Please do" Elsie replied bluntly as she ducked behind her icy cover to reload.

The words themselves were quite an unusual thing for her to say, normally she would say take your time or I got this but hearing those words, the warlock sounded even more worried. "What's wrong?" She asked quickly as the sound of a sparrow buzzed in the background, her sudden urgency clear.

It was a bit awkward reloading with one and half hands so it took longer than it should have. As elsie looked up, she came face to face with a dreg although they had unwittingly been stunned by her cover and staggered with a wild grunt, elsie didn't waste the moment and used her strength to thrust the handle of her weapon into its chin hard. She saw the blood as its own teeth pierced its gums before being thrown back, rolling roughly down the stairs and elsie stepped through to finish it off with a well placed headshot. With the dregs collapse, she replied stiffly. "Just get here, you will see soon, I'm waiting at the stairs' she muttered. For the moment, things seemed to be going well until they weren't. a skiff phased into the air above the clearing in front of the stairs and reinforcements climbed out, ready to drop. Elsie gritted her teeth before moving back to take cover in the lobby. "Blyad! hurry up" she urged as her shield fell, elsie continued the fight though, holding down the lobby on her own and one handed.

It seemed like just some extra adds until a captain landed with a battle cry and Elsie's heart sank, she was starting to consider running until a warlock soared into the air above the adds gracefully. She pulled back her hands as void light engulfed her before following her hands as she thrust them towards the enemies beneath her. A warlocks majesty was something else in the field, they were subtle until they used their strengths, their light. The void exploded underneath her as she fell to the ground smoothly, the fallen dissipating in void tendrils around her as they were swallowed by a nova bomb. Just like that, all of the adds were gone in one fell swoop.

The warlock wasted no time before running up the stairs to greet Elsie before pausing a few feet from her, immediately zeroing in on the little bundle in her arms. "What happened to you? Is that?" She asked in shock.

Elsie had never been so glad to see a warlock in her life and there was a sense of relief that it was Skye. She couldn't help but smile a little bit, although that might might have been affected by the fact she was exhausted. "Yes, follow me. I'll explain inside" she replied gently.

It was a short walk and they were in the bunker again allowing both elsie to relax and Skye to start nerding out. "Traveller help me?! This is golden age, I didn't know this was here. And it works!" She enthused excitedly, "how did you find this place?".

Elsie sat down in the cafeteria with a deep sigh of relief and pulled her helmet off before finally looking at skye with relief. "You're going to have to ask Beth" she admitted gently before clearing her throat as tired emotion overcame her, "I've never been so happy to see you" she admitted.

Seeing that it was safe, Skye took her helmet off as well although she was silenced on seeing how tired elsie looked. Skye approached to sit beside her with concern, "why are you covered with blood?" She asked, "you said everything was alright...".

Elsie put up a hand with a nod, "it is, I promise, it just looks bad" she assured. The titan let out a tired sigh as she allowed dust to de-armour the little bundle before she continued. "it was a messy delivery, I just haven't had a chance to clean my armour" she admitted with a little bit of embarrassment, "I forgot it was even a mess".

This seemed to relax skye a little bit before she looked at the little bundle with uncertainty. "why would you bring her out there?" She asked weakly, "you had to know how dangerous that was...".

"trust me, I didn't want to" elsie admitted with guilt. for a moment she avoided skye's gaze but only for a moment as she looked back to her with a weak chuckle, "you would not believe how hard it is to convince a baby to sleep when she is being fussy. unfortunately, beth would have looked after her but... she is sleeping, she needs all the rest she can get". the titan shifted the girl so she could lean on the table and rest her head, "I had no choice...".

The warlock bit her lip before nodding, it wasn't hard to tell that elsie meant for the best. skye looked thoughtful before putting a hand on her shoulder gently, "well it worked out of course, you always make it work" she smiled gently.

elsie looked to skye with quiet relief, lingering on her for a moment and she nodded. "well that's a titan's job right?" she replied playfully, smiling in in return.

skye felt her heart skip a beat, blushing slightly under the titan's gaze. truthfully, there was a lot of reason's she worked with elsie, her dependability being a big part of course, one of the lesser known reasons was her feelings towards her. honestly skye had what you would call a crush on the her, looking at elsie gave her a teenage rush of emotion and nervousness that she couldnt control. it was easy for skye to say she thought the titan pretty, she was such a different type of awoken that she hardly ever saw, perhaps the rarity of her was a drawing point but elsie had pale grey almost white skin. her skin was so pale that you could barely see the light that danced in all awoken and in contrast, her hair was a deep shiny plum, it was almost like black and white. even when elsie was as tired as she was, skye still got caught up in her bright white blue eyes that were framed by deep purple spots spaced neatly accross her eyes, a lone spot was set on her chin undeneath purple lips. she wasnt sure if elsie dressed like this on purpose, she assumed it was just what she was born as but skye had lost the battle years ago.

skye could fuss about elsie for hours if she were honest but she cleared her throat a little awkwardly to change the topic and eyed the bundle quickly. "ok... can I... see?' She asked hopefully, looking at the bundle with awe.

Elsie nodded and chuckled "i was waiting for you to ask" she teased playfully, straightening up with a sigh to pull the blankets aside delicately. She gently waved the warlock closer and showed her evaline with pride. the young girl was awake and looking around curiously with bright pupiless eyes, she seemed unfazed by the danger she was in a moment ago. on seeing Elsie, she gave her a cute little smile as she pulled a hand from her mouth before weakly holding up a hand to the huge titan holding her. Elsie reached for the little hand before hesitating seeing her filthy armour, deciding on second thought that she shouldn't. "Her name is evaline' she mused lovingly, "val for short".

Skye Brought her hands to her mouth, instantly won over by the little girl and she teared up happily. "oh, she's so... oh... can I?" She asked with a whisper, looking as though she wanted to reach out and take her. Elsie nodded with a chuckle and gently put her in the warlocks arms without hesitation. for a moment, evaline seemed offended at the movement, let alone the removal from her titan's arms but she looked confused almost as she realized she was seeing something new. she seemed particularly drawn to the warlocks brightly coloured mess of hair that framed her almost angelically. with skye now totally engrossed in the little child, elsie sat back and observed with a tired smile. skye cradled the child with care, using a gentle hand to hold the girls own delicately.

When skye finally tore her eyes away from the baby, she looked at Elsie with concern. despite it being barely a minute, the titan looked about ready to fall asleep. she'd spaced out as she became lost in thought. "are you ok?" She asked, "you looked exhusted...".

"She is" sparks replied quickly before the titan could say otherwise.

"I'm not that bad" Elsie tried to argue, although her own defense sounded weak.

"You look that bad..." Skye replied gently before looking at evaline thoughtfully. "sparks, can you help me look after... val right?" she asked gently, double checking before continuing, "for just a little bit! Like a few hours at most or something, so Elsie can sleep".

Elsie seemed hesitant but sparks nodded confidently before the titan could argue again. "of course, I'm an expert at this point" she bragged before looking to Elsie sternly, the glowing neon Ghost surprisingly carried a lot more weight than you would expect. "you're relieved from duty" she continued, "we will wake you if we need you" she assured.

Elsie seemed to want to try and find the words to argue but after a long moment of consideration, she sighed in defeat and gave in."'fine... but I mean it, don't hesitate to wake me" she muttered before getting up reluctantly, clearly worried but she heading to the bedroom.

Once she was gone, Skye relaxed a bit and looked to sparks with relief, "I thought that was going to be harder" she admitted with amusement.

sparks seemed just as relieved and nodded, moving to nudge skye's cheek gratefully. "So did I" sparks agreed, "but I'm glad, she has been doing everything alone for a week or more now..." she explained.

Skye's gaze shifted to the bedroom door with concern as she replied, "No wonder she looks exhausted..". as the warlock returned her gaze to evaline, she gave a content sigh and smiled brightly. in the warlocks well rested and happy mood, the little girl was content to settle, almost falling asleep in her arms already. "she's beautiful.." she sighed before looking to sparks, "tell me everything... I want to know..." she admitted.

sparks immediately looked uncomfortable despite her authority only moments ago and she shrunk a little. "Everything as in?" asked vaguely looking unsure, "a lot has happened..".

skye bit her lip, looking directly to the ghost in question with a sigh. "sparks, I know you guys knew where she was this whole time" she suggested bluntly.

Sparks was quiet for a moment, avoiding her gaze awkwardly, "was it that obvious?..." she asked.

the warlock nodded, her gaze never leaving the ghost as not to give up the pressure. 'Yes, i knew the day elsie came home and wanted to talk to me more than five minutes" skye sighed, "so spill, why all the secrecy" she asked.

Sparks hesitated for a moment before giving in to the very convincing warlock. "it was Beth's choice... we wanted to tell you but she didn't want the attention" she sighed, "the only reason we knew was because I'm ok at tracking signals and we found her as she was moving on". sparks looked thoughtful "i was lucky enough to pick up a ping from dust and elsie figured out the direction she might have been going in".

Skye pondered the information, looking thoughtful. "so how long did you know?..." she asked.

after a moment to consider the question, sparks nodded after searching through her data. "About three months, Elsie wanted to try and talk her into going somewhere safer but couldn't until it was too late" she muttered. "we were ambushed by some fallen just before we got into the bunker, not to mention, she took a hit from a skiff as well as a dagger to the chest" sparks explained. "by the time we got her down she was ready to go and almost dead before she had even begun... she held on for a long as she could and we had to resort to cutting the baby out" the ghost admitted looking slightly disturbed, "Beth died halfway through but we somehow managed to save Val. we would have been screwed if Beth wasn't a guardian...".

Skye looked guilty and eyed the sleeping little girl in her arms, she had seemingly not expected the news to be that grim. "if I was there... maybe I could have helped" the warlock admitted before looking to the ghost with concern, "was elsie ok?".

"I mean it's a possibility but I'm not sure" sparks admitted before looking to dust who had subtly left without being noticed. instead she turned her gaze back to skye and continued, "dust was able to patch her up and now she is just dealing with the residual affects, as for elsie..." sparks trailed off with uncertainty. "she acted like she was ok but she seemed a little sick... i dont think she has had the chance to think about it any more" she added gently.

Skye looked thoughtful, glancing to the bedroom as her thoughts briefly went to elsie and what she must have been through, her armour was likely just the surface of her stress. she was confused at the explanation of beth's condition. "I would think that if you guys ressed her, she should be fine right? What residual effects are you talking about?" skye questioned curiously.

"Dust told me that she could have revived her normally but then she wouldn't be able to nurse properly... she has to use the damaged body for a little while" sparks explained, "she believes Beth will recover in time, but until then, she needs help".

Skye nodded, "I guess that makes sense" she admitted before she got up carefully and walked to the bedroom curiously. Elsie had ditched her armour beside the bed, somewhat more haphazardly than she would normally but she was now in an exhausted sleep wearing only her leather pants and jumpsuit. it almost looked like she gave up halfway through undressing.

Beth looked similar as she took up the bed in the centre of the room, she laid on her back looking quite unwell, even in sleep. she was clearly jus as exhuastedd as elsie herself but obviously for very different reasons. as they moved to leave, the ominous cat-shelled ghost, dust appeared in front of her, her golden glowing cat eye standing out brightly in the dim. "skye, it's good to see you" she smiled gently, "sorry for not saying hi sooner, I was checking on Beth" she explained quietly.

Skye gave the ghost a bright smile and waved her off lightly, "it's ok sweety, it's good to see you too" she soothed, "how is she?".

"Good, getting better" she assured confidently, "I expect her to be waking up at any point now" dust replied.

Skye looked thoughtful before leaving the bedroom quietly, "right, well esperer, can you transmat those supplies in for me my sweet?" She asked out loud lovingly, speaking to her ghost.

"Of course" Hope replied, appearing beside the warlock happily. this ghost was completely different again as she wore a translucent looking shell that was patterned like the night sky, rimmed with silver. she had been biding her time, choosing not to come out until skye had finished greeting everyone. esperer or better known as hope to thise who couldnt speak french set to work immeditely, letting herself into the bunker system curiously to find out how she would be able to bring the supplies in without elsie's strength. she settled on bringing down the silencing radius for the brief period that she would need and she set four large supply crates down in a corner out of the way as Skye sat down in the cafeteria table again.

"Do you like the name?" Dust asked curiously as she had followed the warlock out of the bedroom.

Skye nodded and looked to the girl affectionately, the little awoken stirred briefly with their walk but remained sleeping. "it suits her" she admitted, "I think beth made a good choice".

dust looked a little playful and shifted to look over skye's shoulder, "Beth let Elsie name her' dust explained happily and Skye looked surprised before amused curiosity took over.

"She did now? Oh" she replied, pausing for a moment and chuckling. "I wasn't expecting that" she admitted, "it's such a delicate name".

sparks nodded with agreement, "i've got no i dea where it came from, i've never heard it before but It's pretty great considering it's from elsie" sparks mused.

"Why did beth leave the choice with her?" skye asked curiously.

dust looked unsure, "if i was to take a guess, She was exhusted" she admitted. "saying that though, I think she also thought Elsie deserved the honour, she was the one that made sure she survived above all else' dust explained lightly.

Skye nodded thoughtfully with a sigh, 'I'd be inclined to agree". she then looked playful, "by the looks of it, I can hazard a guess that Elsie hasn't let anything bad happen".

"No, for the first few nights, Beth was sleeping on and off. Elsie pretty much never let Evaline leave her arms, even in sleep" dust smiled, "I'm not sure if Beth was going to try and take her but it was clear she wasn't going to be able to if she tried without permission" dust mused.

Skye looked amused at the image of the sleeping titan protecting the tiny baby in her sleep. it was the equivilaent almost to oryx and the guardian's who faced him in a way, this huge metal titan looking after such a small and delicate, obviously oryx tried to kill the guardians but still. "I can imagine that" she laughed gently.

The ghosts and skye spoke for a while until pained whimpers broke through the peace and skye looked up as beth stood unsteadily in the doorway looking relieved and shocked. she was clearly notaware that skye was coming and she looked defensive. the warlock stood quickly and walked over with concern, careful not to stir evaline in the act. "hey, what's wrong, can I help?" She asked gently.

"what are you doing here" Beth replied with tired concern, her voice muffled by exhaustion making it a little harder to understand her through her similar russian accent to elsie's. "were you followed? How did you get in?" she continued suspiously..

"Elsie let me in' skye replied soothingly, "I'm sorry to surprise you, she needed supplies so I brought them" she explained. "I swear, no one knows I left to help you" she assured.

Beth seemed to ponder the words before nodding reluctantly, "ok" she muttered simply in reply. The hunter seemed to calm down a bit before reaching for the bundle lightly and she checked on her with a loving gaze, it was likely the most emotion skye had ever seen in the hunter that wasn't anger. "how is she?" Beth asked gently.

"Just fine" skye assured gently, "you can have her if you like" she offered, being careful not to upset the hunter further. Beth normally looked quite collected. moody and suspicious sure, but clearly her ordeal had ruined her completely. she seemed a little thinner, perhaps from her time out in the wilds when she should have been home. remarkably, beth looked a lot like elsie only she had more blue tinted skin and while it was likely a side affect from her health, the light seemed to be dimmer insider her, reacting slower to her emotions that it normally would. it als became clear that her daughter had a more blue pink tint to her skin, likely a mix from the mystery figure who caused this to happen.

Beth considered the offer and nodded, walking over to the cafeteria table and sitting down with a stiff whimper. skye gave her a chance to rest for a moment before offering the little bundle happily. Skye watched the two for a moment with a smile, it was wonderful to see that beth had strong affections for the child, skye would be lying if she sid she wasn't a little worried that beth would have trouble connecting to the girl properly but she was glad to see that it didnt seem to be a problem. since the warlock didnt have the friendship that beth and elsie did, she felt a little awkward, not really knowing how to approach the usually closed off hunter but she decided on getting beth some water and sitting down with her. "how are you feeling?" She asked gently.

"Ok" beth responded quietly, likely feeling just as awkward as she found herself sitting beside the warlock. "I'm getting better" she admitted she finally tore her gaze away from evaline looking proud before concern took over. "I saw Elsie and she didn't have her... I was worried" she explained.

"We told her to get some sleep" sparks smiled, "she was falling off her feet and I figured I could help skye if she needed anything" she assured confidently.

skye chuckled weakly, "I think Elsie has done all the hard work already" skye admitted with a smile. "all I had to do was hold her" she mused.

beth nodded, a sense of shame showing in her features. "honestly she seems like she is the mother at the moment..." she sighed, almost looking guilty. "I wish I could do more" she muttered moodily.

skye bit her lip awkwardly, the hunter had a point from what she had heard already, "I can see that" skye nodded before looking at the hunter with determination. "once you're better, it will be fine" she added, "give it time" skye soothed. beth nodded reluctantly and returned her gaze to her baby lovingly, she was very much a doting mother despite her somewhat disheveled appearance.

beth stayed up with skye for an hour or so but it was a very quiet affair as the hunter wasn't very talkative, she was forced to go back to bed after that and evaline stayed with her while she was still asleep. This left skye alone with the ghosts and she wasn't sure what to do at first because she felt awkward but she settled on taking off her armour and getting into something more comfortable. skye then grabbed some water and a cloth as she begun the arduous work of cleaning up Elsie's armour. It was quite gross work but piece by piece, the blood and muck was cleaned off, finally finishing up by running Elsie's clothing through a thorough wash and disinfectant because they were the most filthy. while it certainly wasn't the polishing work of elsie herself, skye gave the armour a final clean wipe over and set it to the side to dry out properly. once that job was done, skye settled at the table with a book in her hands, passing some time with some absentminded study.

It was quiet for the next few hours until the silence was broken by cries, skye was quick to retrieve evaline from the hunters drowsy arms and the warlock spent the next half an hour helping the girl feel better before returning her back to beth once she was asleep again. The titan didn't stir once despite the sounds of an upset baby, sparks informed her that normally she slept lightly, much like she would in the field. she would have woken up at the slightest complaint from evaline but she must have either been too exhausted or she felt comfortable enough to sleep properly since skye was there. with the possibility that elsie trusted her to that extent, she felt a little flustered but it certainly boosted her confidence. Time passed quite slowly underground and as the hours dragged on, the warlock lost track of what time it was but she didn't mind really as she spent the time reading and studying quietly when she wasn't thinking about other things.

elsie woke up roughly a good 12 hours later at least if not longer, Skye and beth had between the two of them, kept evaline happy and quiet on purpose so the titan didn't wake until she felt ready too. when she finally stepped out of the bedroom looking drowsy, she was dressed in trackpants and a tank top as sparks had redressed her so that she was more comfortable at some point. elsie still barely looked awake but sat at the table with a yawn and Skye gave her a gentle smile with a light blush. "feeling better?" She asked.

Elsie gave her a sleepy nod and rested her head in her hands as she pulled herself from sleep, "yeah... thanks" she murmured somewhat lazily, her accent yet again getting in the way of understanding her properly, noone decided to point this out given that she had just woken up. after a few minutes she managed to actually focus a little bit and looked at skye with a sigh, "you didn't happen to bring me some coffee did you?" She asked hopefully. "I think I forgot to mention it" she admitted with some dissapointment, coffee and milk had been the only thing they didn't really have at the bunker, everything else was survival food though so it's not like the selection was great to begin with.

Skye got up and went to her cargo crates thoughtfully, while she knew she had brought some, she made it a little more dramatic as she 'searched'. "i'm not sure" she admitted before pulling out a large tin of coffee with the supplies to make it, showing elsie with a cheeky shake of the tin. "I'll make you one" she smiled gently.

Elsie looked up to the noise and lit up, giving her a grateful smile. 'you're my hero' she enthused tiredly.

skye blushed at the words and cleared her throat as she headed to the kitchen with the supplies, busying herself with the task at hand to control her butterflies. she returned with a coffee for elsie and a tea for herself. "I dropped by your place to pick up a few things and thought you might appreciate that" skye admitted shyly, "after all... uh, what is it they say, parents survive on sweets or coffee?" she joked lightly before sipping her tea hoping to calm herself.

elsie looked beyond grateful as she received her coffee, taking a moment to enjoy the scent before taking a sip. after so long without a coffee and after the amount of stress that she'd been through, the coffee wasn't far from the greatest thing ever and she closed her eyes to enjoy the warmth and buzz of her favorite beverage. "I do" she sighed before looking to skye "traveller help me, i love you right now" she chuckled. her words seemed to be clearer too as she dragged herself further away from sleep.

Skye blushed deeply at the words and focused on her tea shyly before replying weakly. it made her happy to see elsie so happy after looking so beat up but the words were practaclly murder to her thought process and she mumbled out a reply. "you look better" she observed awkwardly.

elsie laughed, enjoying the warlocks shy demeanor, she was cute when she got nervous, not that elsie ever pointed it out. "It's a wonder what some sleep and a good coffee can do' Elsie smiled brightly. she had more energy now than she'd had for the past few days. "I didn't hear anything..." she admitted, "were you guys ok? How long was I out?" elsie asked curiously as she continued to deeply enjoy her coffee.

sparks lit up on seeing elsie's energy return, she had missed her obnoxious titan and at first oppotunity, she settled in front of elsie affetionately. "You were gone for a good 12 hours at least" sparks informed cheerfully and elsie looked like she almost spit out her coffee with surprise.

"Why didn't you wake me?" elsie asked looking flustered.

skye looked worried for a moment before giving the titan a gentle smile. "We were fine" she assured, "you needed the rest so we let you sleep...".

elsie looked torn between being grateful for the extra sleep and upset that they'd let her go off duty for so long. "How was beth?" Elsie continued carefully.

Skye bit her lip looking awkward, "she kinda freaked out a bit when she saw me, but I don't think she is too upset". skye then chuckled weakly, "if she is, she didn't look it anyway".

elsie looked relieved at the news despite a bit of remaining uncertainty, beth after all wasn't a very social person when she wasn't a mother. "I kinda expected it to be honest" Elsie admitted, "but I'm glad she wasn't too upset". the titan relaxed a bit at the news though, "so what are you going to do?" Elsie asked, looking at the warlock questioningly as she sipped her coffee safely again.

the warlock looked thoughtful, awkwardly running a finger over the edges of her cup. "well I was thinking, if you guys are ok with it of course. I could stay for a few days and then head back" skye explained shyly, "while I'm here I can help you get some more rest" she offered.

elsie considered the thought, if beth was already ok with her being here, staying shouldn't be an issue and even she had thought that it might be nie to have an extra set of hands, not that she would openly admit that. "Well I don't need it but it would be nice to have you here" Elsie responded with a smile, "you sure you're not going to get in trouble?" she asked carefully.

"I have a few days" skye admitted. "I told them I was off to the dreaming city, but even if I do get in trouble, we are all in this together right? I don't mind if I get disciplined" she promised. skye then bit her lip, looking to elsie with a sigh, "they aren't very happy with you or beth though and they told me to tell you guys if I saw you to return to the tower where it's safe" she admitted.

Elsie shook her head with a playful chuckle, "I'm so screwed" she mused, unaffected by the news. "I don't think Beth is ready to return to the tower yet so i'll wait for her" elsie continued with a shrug.

the fact that elsie was willing to go down with Beth was mildly concerning to skye but she knew elsie enough to know that you wouldn't be able to sway her decision. she agreed with the titan though, Beth was clear no where near healthy enough or mentally ready to go bak yet. "No, it certainly doesn't sound like it" Skye agreed, "they probably knew I was going to see you to be honest but at this point they must know it's a useless endeavour to push the matter" she admitted before eyeing Elsie, "it's you after all".

"Probably" Elsie agreed with a smile, finishing her coffee with a pleased sigh before continuing, "but whatever happens, happens' she shrugged casually. while the sentiment worried Skye, she at least felt better knowing that Elsie was more than prepared for what was coming and it was just another reason to admire the strong willed titan, Skye could not bring herself to do the same.


	4. Welcome home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to face the music as Elsie answers for Beth's choices.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Beth/Dust (Boa/Pyli) Russian-Hunter)  
> (Elsie/Spark (Captain/Iskra) Russian-Titan)  
> (Evaline/Val)  
> (Skye/Hope (Arctic/Esperer) French-Warlock)

As a month passed, Elsie ended up staying on Venus with Beth the whole time, the risk of leaving was decidedly too much. the hunter herself could finally start caring for little evaline after two weeks or so and Elsie became the secondary carer instead of the primary one. It took a little for evaline to adjust after spending so much time with Elsie but she soon loved her mother just as much. It was hard work though and the two took it turns to do baby duties with skye dropping in to give both of them some proper rest time once a week. If the they were honest with themselves, the vanguard likely knew exactly where skye was going, directly to help her fireteam wherever they may have been hiding but they hadn't stepped into to stop her. if they knew where beth was situated, they also hadn't said so. it meant for the moment, things were peaceful.

it was the end of skye's visit when finally found themselves in the cafeteria together, the warlock was all packed but had decided to stay around for breakfast. evaline in her mother's arms and feeding with her fireteam facing her with tea's, coffee's and a humble breakfast. beth had been thinking a lot over the last day, considering her situation and that of the elsie's who she had unintentionally dragged with her. there was no escaping the fact the both guardians would be punished severely but knowing the titan, she would likely take the biggest fall, she was too much of a white knight not too. despite the cheery mood provided by elsie's teasing and skye's returning chatter, beth wanted to speak to them and now that everyone was settled, it was the perfect oppotunity. Beth looked to her sisters with a sigh looking reluctant before speaking, "I was thinking about going back to the tower" she admitted, breaking the mood with tension instantly.

Elsie looked up with surprise at the sudden announcement and nodded, "we can do that if you like" she replied.

skye looked a little awkward after a moment of thought. "well, It would be much easier to visit you there" skye joked gently before looking uncertain, "but are you sure? You don't have to rush" she assured.

beth hesitateed before nodding, "I know, and I don't intend too... but I mostly wanted to get away from the judgement" she admitted looking annoyed. after a brief pause though she softened and eyed the child in her arms lovingly. "I want to move before Val gets too comfortable here, the longer ii wait, the more painful the move will be" she admitted.

elsie had forgotten about that factor and nodded in agreement, "That's a valid point" Elsie admitted. "will you want to stay at your place?" She asked.

The hunter was quiet as she considered her options, shhe did have an apartment of her own but she wasn't certain she was capable of raising the child on her own, she could barely stand living in the tower when she wasn't tied to a child. "I don't know yet" she admitted.

elsie looked thoughtful as she sipped her coffee, "My place is open if you'd like the spare room" she offered. "I'll probably get stuck on wall duty for the rest of time so I'll be around to help you until you decide you're better off without me" she teased gently.

Skye looked at the titan with guilt and sighed, "I don't envy your position" she agreed weakly.

the titan shrugged it off with amusement, "It was worth every second" Elsie assured confidently.

beth looked at the titan gratefully, it was hard to admit how much would have gone wrong if elsie hadn't beeen here to miraculously pull them both through. "I owe you big time" Beth muttered awkwardly, "thank you".

Elsie smiled playfully and set her coffee down, "oh now i just think you're sucking up" she teased before standing and she circled the table to give the small hunter a gentle hug. "no you don't, seeing Val happy is all I need, I'm just doing what a titan does" she mused, returning to her seat.

beth blushed deeply, she wasn't sure how to react when people were too nice to her but she cleared her throat awkwardly before changing topic. "so Speaking of leaving, i was thinking of leaving today" she admitted before on focusing evaline and burping her since she was finished, "since it's still early".

"We can do that" Elsie nodded, "it won't take long to pack" she assured, already creating a list of things she had to take care of in her mind.

"I can take the remaining supplies" skye offered in agreement.

"That would be appreciated" Elsie nodded thoughtfully, her ship was going to be a bit tight this time round with beth, evaline and the baby supplies needed. "thanks" she smiled gratefully.

skye shook her head with a blush, more than happy to assist. "You look like you will need all the room you can get to keep evaline calm" she admitted, "although, you never know, warping might actually relax her, I know it does me" she smiled hopefully.

After talking for a short while, allowing evaline to and finish their breakfast, the group set into action. after setting aside a nappy bag and all needed supplies, Skye sent the rest up to her ship leaving the titan and hunter as the last ones to get ready, elsie was surprised when she put her armour on to find that it was cleaner than she remembered as she never actually got around to doing it herself. she looked at the warlock curiously "did you do this?" She asked as she stepped out of the bathroom after changing.

skye looked confused before realising what elsie was asking and nodded with a blush, "yeah, you seemed busy so I cleaned it for you" she explained nervously. "is it clean enough?" She asked hopefully, "I know you have high standards".

elsie smilled brightly and walked over to her, pulling the warlock into a tight metal hug playfully. "Yes, all that missing a bit of polish" she assured, "thank you" she mused gratefully.

skye blushed deeply at the sudden hug, her heart racing and she hugged the titan back shyly. it had been a while since she'd seen the titan with armour and really, she had only just gotten used to seeing her without. it was haard for skye not to stare regardless as she adored her in every way and being this close, it was hard to find words for a moment. "I-I'm glad I could help" skye replied weakly, "you look good" she complimented, turning around quickly to hide her face as elsie pulled away. elsie playfully messed up her hair as she moved to finish her chores, not mentioning her reaction thankfully.

Once Elsie was ready, Beth placed evaline in the titan's capable hands to get ready herself but she took her time. the hunter hadn't worn proper armour for months now and her body was still very tender in places. after ten minutes or so, she stepped out and sat down as she adjusted, taking a second to get used to dull pain caused by the light squeezing sensation of wearing armour.

"You ok?" Skye asked gently as she noticed the hunters discomfort.

After a moment the hunter nodded and adjusted her cloak and put her helmet on. sliding the hood over her head she looked thoughtful, "yeah... it's just been a while" she admitted before standing, the hunter was a bit bigger than before the pregnancy but it was barely noticeable and after seeing her out of armour for so long, it was nice.

skye and beth didn't get along nearly as well as elsie and beth did. while they dint argue per say, sky disagreed with her methods and her general disregard for rules. depsite this, she did like beth as a person and it was good to see her back in armour too so she approached the hunter politely to adjust her hood slightly since it was off. "You look good too" skye complimented gently before hugging her gently, "elsie missed you" she smiled.

Beth herself had nothing against Skye and gave her a grateful hug, "and you didn't?" she teased lightly before chuckling, "oh i bet she did, it's boring without me" she joked before shaking her head "it's nice to be back" she admitted.

Elsie if she overhead the chatter, didn't react at all as her attention was stolen by the playful little evaline. she chatted to val with a quiet and adoring murmur, slipping into adoring russian. beth had to walk over and pat her head to get her attention and elsie replied with a cheeky smile. "what are you teaching her now?" beth muttered with a playfully stern voice. elsie just shrugged and offered the bundle gently, "wouldn't you like to know" she teased. evaline looked confused for a second, looking as though she wanted to fuss when she didn't recognize the hunter but as beth spoke calmingly, she seemed to be ok for the moment. Dust wrapped the child up securely before again adjusting one of the hunter's helmets for the child, creating the safe airtight space she'd done previously. Dust couldn't protect the hunter and baby so she focused her efforts on the baby while Elsie and skye insisted the hunter would be fine under their care, dust of course knew they were right. now that a baby wouldn't be holding them back, they would be unstoppable.

They finally left the shelter after one last tidy up and as they surfaced up onto Venus, it was about midmorning. the adds that usually hung around were no match this time and they trekked back to the two parked ships on the Venus coast. Since evaline could see through the helmet, she was pretty content just to watch things vaguely change around her for a while so the walk kept her pretty calm.

there was a few tings that needed to be packed away physically and elsie was just the person for it with her almost inhuman strength, at least it seemd that way to beth and skye who could only watch her carry around heavy metal storage boxes. she decided to repack skye's cargo bays since she wasn't pleased with how unevenly they were packed it was a good half an hour though. Elsie would likely have dne her own ship too if she could get the damned cargo door open but clearly the venusian weather had not helped and they were left with the porthole on the top of the ship. it proved to be an interesting affair to get everyone in, mostly because they didn't want to upset little val before they absolutely had too. Elsie jumped up and got the ship ready before skye had the bright idea of using her more gentle glide to jump up and hand the child down to Elsie in the ship. in response, she seemed scared for a moment but almost seemed to enjoy the experience. Beth had however jumped up on habit and landed with a groan, instantly regretting the action as her body flared up with pain at the unnecessary extra forces on her body. once she was settled into the ship, they were off. Skye waited for the two other guardians to safely fly off before doing the same. Things started to go south when the ship rattled as they left the Venus atmosphere. the noise while totally harmless was very loud, frightening little val who started crying and wouldn't stop until they had reached the smoothness of space. They waited in orbit for half an hour or so for evaline to cool down and skye joined them to have a short chat over comms before they figured they'd see how warping went.

The powering up of the warp drive and running that came with it was about as upsetting as you would guess. the engines ramping up for warp was as loud as before and beth took off both evaline's helmet and her own to try and keep her calm until they were going. with the hunter's not quite well thought through jump earlier, she didn't have the patience to help evaline calm down though so once sparks took over the warp, elsie got up to take over babysitting instead. it didn't work for a little bit no matter what thy didm and she wouldn't calm down until elsie had sat down in the cockpit to cradle her lovingly. the streaking lights of the warp got her attention and slowly silenced her as she watched with curiosity at the endlessly moving lights, finally putting the anxious child to sleep. Once the ship was calm, Elsie turned around to speak to beth. "how you feeling?" She asked gently.

"Jumping was a mistake" Beth mutered with irritation and sighed, "but it's fine" she nodded. "I'll take it easy at home" she added lookin mildly deffeated, it hurt her pride that she wasnt in quite the shape she was before. thefact that a mere jump hurt her was disgraceful inn her eyes and it showed in her low key mood.

Well I'm not entirely surprised" Elsie nodded knowingly, "hell, i could have told you not too if you would listen to me in the first place" she teased gently.

beth flicked her an irritated glance before looking tired, "shut up" she muttered.

elsie smiled, as unaffected as usual by beth's mood, instead leaning back to make herself comfortable with the sleeping girl in her arms. "well, tell you what, why don't you take a nana nap and i will keep this one company" she mused affectionately, her gaze already stolen by evaline.

beth eyed the two before sighing and giving a stubborn nod, "fine, but at least make sure sparks is watching the sky" she teased lighly as she got settled stiffly in thee back of the cockpit. once she managed to get comfortable enough, it wasn't long before the hunter had fallen into an uneasy sleep.

Elsie took great joy in giving little evaline cuddles and shifted to face the front again. val seemed content to drift in and out of sleep for most of the trip, feeling comfortable and safe in the metal monsters arms. the titans helmet seemed to confuse the girl a little too and she didn't really know how to react but she was captured by the streaking lights that reflected off the titans armour. it was a suprisingly comfortable trip all-round. after a few hours of sleep beth stirred to a near silent cabin with only the quiet sounds of the working ship and beeps of various system's working. she found elsie in the same manner she left her in and watched the titan with amusement before commenting quietly. "you know there's something satisfying about watching a titan look so adorable" she teased gently.

Elsie had briefly forgotten beth was there and looked up with surprise before smiling, "we aren't all metal and murder" she replied playfully.

"You could have fooled me" beth teased as she stood up to stretch stiffly before walking over to check on the sleeping tot over elsie's shoulder.

Elsie looked curiously at the hunter before getting a cheeky smile, "you know if it's weird to see me melt.. watching you is probably just as amusing" she chuckled. "i haven't seen you smile this much ever" she admitted playfully.

beth rolled her eyes and flicked the titan's helmet, "please, Don't worry, I'm still as cold as ever" she assured before eyeing the details of where they were. while most peopel would have not been able to understand the jumble of seemingly random letters that made up the rusian language, beth could read it well, a trait both she an elsie shared surprisingly as once upon a time, they must both have been russian. they were about half anhour away from reaching earth's orbit acording to the data so beth eyed the child connsideringly. she probably should take the hild off elsie's hands but she couldnt deny just how much elsie adored the girl she she left her where she was for the moment, sitting back down with a sigh, currently her anxiety was only growing worse as she grew nearer to the tower.

"I don't doubt it" Elsie mused as her gaze followed the hunter briefly before her gaze rested again on the tiny soul in her arms, "I can already tell, this little one is the only one who's ever going to melt you completely" she smiled.

The cabin fell into a content silence again and Elsie didn't bother trying to pry more conversation from beth, she wasn't that much of a talker. instead, she enjoyed watching the light stream past her ship in all colours. with evaline going surprisingly well, the gently sway of the ship keeping her in a gentle sleep for most of the trip, she only stirred towards the end for her feed and as they left the warp with a familiar fumble as earth greeted them.

Elsie had never been so happy to see earth and she was looking forward to being home. She looked back to beth who had just finished feeding val and warned her before entering the earths atmosphere. It was just as bumpy at last time and as expected, the little girl had something say about it but calmed down once they were past the bumps. It was another half hour before they reached the city and Elsie smiled with excitement at the thought of finally getting home. there was a bit of hesitation knowing hat they would be walinng into a trap essentially but sh tried not to think about it as she opened up comms and arranged their landing.

As she pulled up into the hangar, she wasn't entirely surprised by the small crowd waiting for her but she didn't mind as she landed in and shut off the the ship. before going anywhere, she turned to look at Anne with a sigh, "so what do you want to do" she asked gently.

Beth looked almost sick as she returned elsies gaze, looking well and truly as if she was starting to regret her choice but sighed, "you take val and I'll follow you" she muttered awkwardly, a permantly moody look had settled on her features.

At that, Elsie opened up the porthole and climbed out before letting beth pass the bundle of cloth up to her gently, in this instance, she was letting sparks take care of all the official landing procedures. Elsie watched her for a moment to see how she reacted to the height of the tower but evaline seemed to be taking everything ok after a moment so she put a hand down to help lift the hunter up one-handedly onto the ship. she did the same when she helped the hunter off the ship, saving her from hurting herself again with unecesary activity. She then jumped down carefully and the landing surprised a sleepy val making her start to whine.

elsie instanttly turned her attention to evealine adorinly to sothe her gently, "Hey, it's ok" she cooed lovingly, holding her close to calm her down. when beth was ready, she handed her baby back before facing commander zavala head on. she had ben aware of his presence, feeling his rather angry and disapointed gaze but she had ignored it bluntly until then, and even then, she didn't shink under his gaze as she stood beside the hunter defensively.

Zavala's stare could make the strongest start to question if they were right or wrong but not Elsie, she knew she had done the right thing and stared him down from within her helmet. "You're back" he commented bluntly, "welocome back captain' he spoke with irritation.

"Glad to be back sir" Elsie nodded with respect, still not givin into his authority.

Ikora stepped away from the crowd more gently than zavala who looked pissed, "you must realise why we have to discipline you" she begun awkwardly. while elsie didn't scare her or anything, the warlock vanguard did seem to ofer her respect in trun while zavala was not that kind.

Elsie gave a simple nod, folding her hands behind her back militaristicaly, "I accept all responsibility for my actions but I did the right thing" she spoke with decisive conviction.

It was quiet for a moment before zavala seemed to huff, "that could be argued" he muttered in reply before giving a log look to the three before him. "your discipline can wait for now" he spoke with almost a defeated tinge, he must of understood how stubborn elsie was going to be on the matter whether he agreed or not. "is mother and child healthy?" He asked bluntly, seemingly focusing on the most important part of the issue.

Elsie nodded assuringly in reply, "yes sir, I made sure of that".

Ikora looked relieved at that before looking gentle, it was clear thatelsie was running this conversation so that was who they were directing their commens too. "may I see?" She asked hopefully.

Elsie hesitated before looking at beth for the answer, "I am not the one to answer that question" she replied simply.

beth kept her gaze between the vanguardd and her protective titan guard, keeping evaline close. she was more than grateful for elsie dong thetalking because in her state, she was likely to maake things worse. at the question, she looked uncertainl to the titan before eyeing ikora. she couldnt help but hold the little girl closer before relucttantly nodding although she lefft the warlok approach first. Ikora didn't russh despite her clear interestt in the child and approached gently, beth uncovered the grumpy child so that she could see her and Ikora was instantly lost to her charm. "she's beautiful" she mused, "was it a hard delivery?" She asked gently, she kept her voicequiet so the conversation could only bee heard by the two of them.

beth nodded reluctantly, "I'm lucky Elsie was there, I died..." she admitted quietly, a sense of shame taking over briefly.

"I see, well I'm proud of you regardless' Ikora smiled, "I'm glad to see both of you" she assured gently. ikora glanced to the titan protecting before returning her attenion to beth, "take your time to recover, no one expects you to work for a while, you have been through a lot' she soothed before straightenin up and turning to face the titan. I'm proud of you too, you faced a challenge that nobody ever thought you would and came out successful, you should be proud" she smiled, "well done Captain".

Elsie looked a litle surprised at the compliment connsidering the trouble she knew she was in and bit her lip, tearing up a little. "thank you Ikora, I did my best and don't regret is for a moment" she smiled confidently.

Ikora gave a nod and brought a hand up to set it on the titan's shoullder proudly. "of course" she mused before turned to face the crowd and directed her next words at zavala, "lets do this another day" she spoke. there was a sense of authority in her voice that even zavala seemed to recognise as he looked frustrated, definitely not pleased

Zavala was quiet for a moment but nodded with a sigh before looking to elsie sternly, "I expect you in front of me in a weeks time" he ordered bluntly.

Elsie gave him a stiff salute and noddeed, "yes sir, orders received" she replied confidently.

zavala seemedd to search the titan before his gaze turned to the hunter, "congratulations" he spoke finally before turning and waving away the crowd. and walking through it, followed by Ikora. The small crowds gaze turned to the two guardians curiously before elsie took the lead for beth and they proceeded to start walking home, ignoring the crowd.

The walk took about ten minutes and they headed to elsies's home to begin with. Beth didn't look up once, her mood was dangerously snippy, shooting cold looks at people who stared. She seemed to relax a bit once they were home and she sat down with a relieved sigh looking pained with evaline in her arms, the extra stress was not helping her condition at all. Elsie took a moment to just enjoy standing in the doorway of her home with a content sigh before taking her helmet off and moving over to crouch down beside beth witha gentle smile. "you ok?" She asked with mild concern, not wanting to be to much for the hunter.

beth nodded stiffly before offering her evaline, "can you hold her for a second" she asked, Elsie gave a nod and quite happily took the grumpy little awoken who had been steadily been feeling more offended in the tension. the hunter looked relieved as dust took her armour off and she tenderly felt her chest with quiet groans, "thank you" she muttered.

Elsie watched her thoughtfully before smiling and nudging her shoulder, "how about you have a shower or bath, freshen up and I'll make something for dinner. I'll look after val, then you guys can head to bed early" she offered "I'll deal with everything else" she promised.

beth looked as though she wanted to argue for a second but even she knw thatshe was in no state for babysitting currently and she nodded, "ok, I'll do that" she replied with a defeated sigh. the hunter paused though to look at elsie sternly, "you make sure you take some time for yourself too" she ordered awkwardly.

"yes mame" elsie replied playfully, giving a lazy salute as she stood and looked to evaline. "she won't keep me too busy" she promised with an adoring smile.

The hunter seemed mildly satisfied with that despite rolling her eyes dramatically and she disappeared into the bathroom for a while while Elsie sat down for a moment to enjoy being home. with the freedom of her house and knowing that beth might take a little longe than she usually might, elsie figured she could sppare a few minutes to fuss affectinately over evaline who cheered up at the playful russian titan's interactions. after a brief playtime, sparks gave elsie a reminder so she didnt totally lose track of time and the titan gave the little girl a smile, "let's make mum something to eat" she cooed cheerfully, "you can help too" she added as she stood to head to the kitchen, chatting happily with the girl as she inspected what was left in her kitchen after so long of being away. she didn't have much currently, she'd been gone so long that what did have was on its way out but she managed to pull together some pasta and sauce with dried Veges and it didn't turn out half bad considering. evaline was surprisingly patient to begin with, simply being happy as she was talked and sung to by elsie as she cooked with one hand, by the end of it though val was getting bit fussy so Elsie left dinner in the oven to keep warm. She settled on laying down on the lounge with the girl on her chest and after she seemed happy, elsie started watching a game of crucible on her tablet until beth surfaced when she was ready. the titan didn't notice the hunters silent approach, nor the fact she started to watch the game with her until she commented on a sketchy call from shaxx. "That was bull" beth sighed with annoyance, crouching down beside the lounge.

elsie glanced at her with amusement before nodding agreement, "I know right" she muttered, "Luna's howl seems ridiculously unfair" she admitted before looking at her. "feeling better?" she asked lightly.

beth nodded and smiled gently, "much better" she assured before looking to elsie questioningly. she haad noticed that elsie was still in almost full armour, despite having spent solong at home. normally, elsie didn't like to stay in her armour at home to both save her furniture from mess and damage. the other reason was it was just unecesary to wear armour at home and she couldnt clean it if she was wearing it. "you know I thought you didn't like wearing your armour around the house" beth teased.

elsie smiled playfully, "I don't like to mak a habit of it, no but but even I get comfortable" she mused.

beth shook her head with a sigh, "I love how you use the word 'comfortable' wrapped in that much metal and weight" beth admitted.

Elsie laughed and knocked on a shoulder plate lightly, "it's like a warm shell, its great. you should try it one day" she teased.

beth held her haands up and refused immediatly, "oh no way, I feel like I'd suffocate" she muttered. "i think you're insane and there's only one way I'd ever try on your armour on and that's if you tried mine on" she argued, believing that elsie would never..

"You're on" Elsie challenged playfully making beth do a double take however their conversation was interrupted by the now very tired evaline starting to cry. Elsie sat up holding her close and rubbed her back supportively, "aw, ok, your turn for attention" she cooed lovingly and started checking the bases. she needed to be changed and bathed so Elsie got up and got too it, allowing the hunter a little extra timme to relax rather than arguing with a tubbornly opinionated little awoken. half an hour or so later of unhappy tears, evaline finally found her way into her mother's arms for dinner and Elsie served the adult's dinner after having finally got out of her armour. beth went to bed not long after dinner was settled and once val was sleeping, they settled into elsies spare room gratefully. Elsie made sure they were ok before finally having the house to herself. Normally, she wasn't this tired and she would settle down with a coffee and watch crucible or clean the days armour, but today she settled for a bath, bed and elsie found herself asleep before she'd even hit the pillow.

The titan must have been pretty tired as she woke with a start and with no indication of the time as someone gently shook her shoulder. elsie was surprised when looked up drowsily to see skye looking embarrased an apolegetic. in the dim rom, her blushing was even clearer as her cheeks lit up brightly and her gaze avoided the titan's awkwardly. "sorry... I didn't want to wake you.. I just don't have time to hang around" skye muttered weakly. Elsie blinked away sleep with a sigh and nodded, still barely functional but managing to keep up although her first words were a mess of sluggish russian and skye looked guilty. "i'm so sorry... i dont understant you" she apoloogised shyly. elsie took another moment to focus and tried again after a yawn, "right... what are we doing?" She murmured, her accent still makng it harder however at least she spoke common this time.

skye couldn't help but blush worse, feeling awful for making elsie work so hard just to be understood, even worse was that she was still hard to understand but she managed to understand this time at least and continued gently. "I just need you for a second" she admitted awkwardly, kneeling down beside the bed before continuing. "I've been asked for a report about where you've been..." she explained looking guilty. "I think it's none of their business but I'm not in charge" she muttered quickly, her own french accent briefly confusing elsie as she spoke quickly.

elsie closed her eyes sleepily as she considered the request and after a moment of cloudy thought, she shrugged lazily before shifting coomfortably in bed, rolling to her side to cuddle her pillow. "then screw em... they won't get one" she mused lazily, her accent slipping again as sleep tugged at her, "it's none of their business...

Skye bit her lip with uncertainty, elsie had never been this against the rules before, or at least she had never seen elsie this disobedient before herself. she looked a little awkward as she continued warily, "you're already in so much trouble though... are you sure?" she asked gently. "I've never seen you so disobedient before" she observed.

Elsie smiled at the accusation and chuckled, waving her off lazily. "hah, add it to the rest of my charges" she murmured playfully.

the warlock looked thoughtful as she considered anything that she cold think of too save the titan from more punishment. "let me talk to Ikora, maybe she has a way around it" she offered hopefully before standing and going to leave befoe blushing again with embarrasment. "i almost forgot, I left your cargo in the living room... sorry again for waking you up' she apologized weakly, "it's just that I'm going away again and it can't wait" she explined with some disdain. elsie noddded and eyed the warlock drowsily, she didnt watch her words or actions nearly as well when she was tired so she smiled as her gaze followed the warlock. "next time i'll have to punish you.. you'll owe me cuddles" she teased with a chuckle, settling into sleep easily. skye froze at this and took a deep breath as she was overwhelmed by emotion and headed to te door quickly, "I'll drop by when I get back" she promised weakly before leaving quietly and shutting the door behind her, elsie was too tired to notice really as skye didn't get more than a vague nod from her.

Elsie had almost forgotten about skye's visit when she finally got up and the titan realised that she had slept through most of the day and still felt buggered. She decided not to stress out too much about it and headed down stairs to find beth laying down on her couch with baby evaline asleep on top of her. the hunter had dozed off herself so Elsie made an effort to be quiet and after making herself a coffee, settled on her lounge to start polishing her armour. she put on the radio and listened to it through headphones as not to bother beth or evaline with her ocd armour care. Elsie easily lost track of time when she started cleaning and polishing, it started out a mind numbingly boring task for her but she found that it helped distract her from the days events and even calmed her down over time. she had grown to actually love the act and as she traced the curves and angles in the armour with her cloth, she could relax completely.

After an hour or so, she realised she was being watched as she glanced over to see that beth at some point had woken and started watching her with amusement as she humed to herself. Elsie gave her a playful smile, "what's that look for?" She asked accusingly.

beth gave a chuckle in return, shaking her head innocently. "oh nothing" she replied, 'you can clean my armour if you like" she teased.

"I'll do it" Elsie threatened playfully, "don't temp me, you're armour is always needing it" she laughed. "how was your nap?" She asked with a smile.

the hunter looked playfully offended before shrugging it off, "help yourself, traveller knows, i won't be bothered" she replied before looking content. "as for the nap, Great" beth admitted comfortably looking relaxed, "you're place is so quiet" she nodded, "it's nice". beth did own or moreso, rent an apartment in the tower a few floors down, it was another reason she and elsie had ended up friends because the hunter could inevitably not escape the titan's gaze however she barely lived here normally, preferring the wilds. she'd made little hideout's for herself all over the wilds and only really came back for a night or two when the vanguard wanted her or she had missed the luxuries of the city and even then, she could barely stay because there was too many people. she liked elsie's place which was an initial surprise to begin with. normaally she didn't visit anyone, regardless of who they were but elsie was convincing and coffee was always a promising venture, not to mention, they had discovered they could both speak a rare form of ancient russian which added yet another reason to reluctantly visit the titan's home.

when Beth first turned up, she wasn't surprised by how spotless and neat everything was, she could tell by elsie's armour she was likely ocd, but the house itself was clearly more luxurious than most guardian homes due to the nature of their work. they were one floored generally with only the bare minimum of things. a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living room. anything more was quite a jump in glimmer as the 'family hoses were generally saved for and rented by te civilians who kept the tower running. elsie's house while appearing simple on the first floor, the fact there was a second floor and more bedrooms meant that she was essentially living in the equivalent of a mansion compared to normal guardian housing. it brought into question just how old the titan was so she could not only afford the house among other things but also how lucrative city duties were if age didn't explain her finances.

elsie gave a cheeky smile as she replied, "you know, you can always move in if it helps" she offered before abesentmindedly focusing on her armou again. rigt now she was focusing on one of her boots, always a messy affair so she had shifted to the floor in front of her coffee table and set doown a sheet to catch the muck. with a varied set of toolls and brushes, she was detailing the various folds in both cloth and metal, including the soles and repairing as she went if it was necessary. "Was the spare room alright?" She asked.

beth nodded, "yes, it was great. thank you again for this" she smiled gratefully.

elsie nodded and glanced up to her and the sleeping tot breifly, "Did you have any trouble today?" Elsie continued.

the hunter shook her head, "No and I'm glad" beth admitted. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to wake you since apparently you do enjoy sleep occasionally" she teased. honestly with the titan's normal sleeping schedule without it being affected by a child was mildly insane.

Elsie shrugged as she returned her foocus to her work, "you could have if you needed too" she mused.

beth sat up with a stiff sigh, cradling the child gently as she did so. "I know, but you deserve some rest, it's the first time you've been home for a few months isn't it" she asked.

Elsie nodded with a pleased sigh, "well yes.. I missed home" she admitted with a chuckle. she paused though before continuing, "but that doesn't mean I regret anything" she assured, "I'll go out and pick up some shopping tomorrow just so you know so write a list of things you want" she added casually.

beth gently set dalia beside her on the lounge and noodded looking uncertain, "Do you want me to come with?"

Elsie shrugged in reply, "up to you, you're more than welcome too" she smiled, "but feel free to stay home and relax if you'd prefer". the titan then looked to her gently, "you will have to take over in a week or so, maybe you should use the time to rest" she reminded.

The hunter gave it some thought and nodded, "ok, I'll stay then..". she then looked at Elsie curiously, "skye went up there before, was she alright?" she asked.

'Elsie looked briefly confused before the vague memories of Skye waking her returned and she chuckled. "i think they want a report or something, i can't remember much more than saying something like none of their business honestly" she admitted playfully. The hunter scowled at the mention and Elsie continued "they can go without regardless, my opinion is unchanged" she mused, "but I think skye is going to try and find a way around me getting into more trouble if i know her well enough".

despite a moment of beth's mood, she softened to look at else with guilt, "I'm sorry" she sighed looking apologetic.

"What for?" Elsie smiled, "I've got to admit; it's kinda fun bending the rules for once" she added, "it's exciting".

beth cringed at this emembring how the titann stood up to the vangaurd for her, any sane person would have been scared to stand up to thee leaders of an army of guardians. "Oh no, have I created a monster?" Anne asked carefully.

elsie tilted her head slightly as she consiidered the thought and with her pinky, adjusted her hair with a shrug. "Well i already was one according to nintey percent of people i come accross" she teased before smilng, "perhaps a very straight laced monster who is more willing to break the rules" she mused. beth wasn't sure it was a great thing but she reluctantly accepted the answer and eyed the sleeping litle tot. if she learnd from elsie, she would becaome another monster of elsie most likely, but she suppposed it wasn't the worser of fates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> character Profile: Lizabeta, or Beth to her friends  
> Beth's story follows the cannon story of destiny, aka, she is 'The Guardian' however this doesn't come into the story much. Beth in fact despises being seen after her big cannon events and will go underground so she ensures that people forget she exists again. It's my reason as to why 'The Guardian' is known by most people as almost as a legend, Beth just hates the attention.
> 
> personality wise, Beth comes off cold and unsociable leading to people considering her as a particularly suspicious hunter, her work is ALWAYS dependable though. In truth, she is just awkward and not very good at talking to people, they often misunderstand her blunt mood as anger or worse so while Beth has a lot of trusted that she can work with at will, she isn't particularly close with any of them accept Elsie and Skye though.
> 
> Pyli, or dust to those who can't or prefer not to speak the russian word, is the hunters ghost and she has the special talent of making a cute shell seem ominous. she can be as awkward as her owner however she is much more angry and OCD. nosy is a good word for her, as she is usually snooping around in the van-net when she isn't hacking into something for Beth. her favourite shell is the nine lives shell, which she wears in faded black and silver trimming and she programs her eye to appear as a gold yellow cats eye to match. as a rule, she loves the cuter of shells but her mood tends to make even these shells ominous as dust has no time for anyone really other than Beth and her chosen companions.


	5. Life at Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A picture of life at the city

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Beth/Dust (Boa/Pyli) Russian-Hunter)  
> (Elsie/Spark (Captain/Iskra) Russian-Titan)  
> (Evaline/Val)  
> (Skye/Hope (Arctic/Esperer) French-Warlock)

<p>The next week was quite easy going, it was a bit interesting trying to change evaline's routine to match the day and night hours though. They had gotten used to not having to worry about daylight while they were underground but otherwise it was fine. It was a week on the spot when Elsie found herself in front of zavala first thing in the morning like the good soldier she was and after giving her a strongly worded lecture on proper communication and not doing whatever she wanted without telling anyone, she was given a restriction order. it meant that Elsie was to stay within the walls for six months straight as her punishment and she was stuck switching between tower and wall duty starting that day. Zavala seemed to understand that Beth needed her for the time being so the whole thing was a lot more gentle than she would have thought but he threatened to make her life harder if she broke her restrictions even once without a good reason. Elsie took her orders well and despite the prospect being stuck in the tower guarding the armoury for the day and all foreseeable days coming, she took her punishment with grace.</p>

<p>The first week without Elsie in the house was rough and Beth did ok by herself but she was exhausted when she couldn't rely on the titan as much. it wasnt the baby care itself that Beth had an issue with but she struggled with the emotional side of things. By the end of the week, the titan ended up coming home to a screaming baby because Evaline just didn't want to calm down, reflecting her mothers stress of being trapped at home with a baby who she only had a small amount of patience for in the first place. Val seemed to enjoy Elsie a lot more purely because she could take care of the emotional things a lot better. when all else failed, the titan could always manage to get her to calm down if Beth couldn't, she just wasn't always around anymore. 

It was a month before Elsie was put on wall duty and after a few bumpy days where Beth could no longer just walk to where the titan was guarding for the day, not to mention a bit of worry on Elsie's part since she still had a lingering feeling of anxiety every time she left the two alone. for the most part though, Everything seemed to go well and the time started flying by much quicker. As for the report, Ikora met Elsie half way and asked for a bare report stating where they were and limited details of the time they spent away. Elsie did agree to this compromise and skipped past all the gory details for Beth's sake among specific details on co-ordinates and other things. she did give them a rough timeline of what happened and the vanguard was satisfied enough.</p>

<p>It was about three months later as Elsie walked beside Beth, Val in her arms and it was the titan's day off. Elsie had begun with a few extra days for an adjustment period but she was soon working every day to compensate for given kindness. due to good behavior though, they had given her one day off every week again. the decision was based on both her recent good behavior and the many years of service she had already given to the city. with so much time passing, Beth had well and truly recovered her health at least, to be work ready however was different and today would be the beginning of change. now that the hunter was capable and she had decided that she wanted to get back into the swing of things so she could start working again as city life drove her insane. As they reached the hangar, Elsie looked to Beth sternly, "remember, I have to stay in the walls" she reminded with a tired sigh, "I don't particularly feel like extending my prison time" she admitted. Elsie loved and appreciated the city but with her freedom being so limited, she was really missing the ability to just get in her ship and go wherever she felt like.</p>

<p>Beth nodded with a knowing look, although it was certainly rare for Elsie herself to be sick of the city, "don't worry, we aren't leaving, I couldn't do that to you" she replied with quiet guilt before looking hopeful, "mind if we take my ship?" She asked hopefully.</p>

<p>Elsie shook her head and motioned her forward, "go nuts, but you know the rules" she warned casually.</p>

<p>Beth lit up at the reply, looking excited almost as she called down her ship. she looked relieved to see the dragonfly float down to greet her, quite obviously barely holding back an eager jump up to let herself in to the beautiful ship that she adored likely just as much as evaline herself. to her credit, the ship itself was gorgeous, earned from a particularly good revelry loot haul. the hunter had it covered in gambit jade stone so in the sun, the gem like green shimmered with gold trimmings and it positively sparkled in the daylight. beth took a moment to simply admire the huge ship, pressing a hand to the hull with a content smile, she adored flight and the beauties she owned to provide her with said activity. the ship however was not a cargo type of ship at all, it only had a digital storage which meant the only way in was the hatch on top and the hunter offered val to Elsie. "i suppose you should jump up" she admitted, "there's no back door". 

Elsie's gaze couldn't be helped as it lingered on the beautiful ship that seemed just as eager as the hunter to escape the city confines, she did meet Beth with a nod though and took evaline lovingly. "can do" she replied cheerfully. with the hunter now free from recovery and child, she backed up to get a bit of a run up. she wasn't quite as practiced as she used to be and with some ease and a slight almost disastrous slip on the wing, she let herself into the cockpit via the top hatch. Beth didn't waste time to start the ship, getting it powered up for their impending flight while Elsie boosted up smoothly to join her in the cabin. evaline looked surprised by jumping glide but it was smooth enough to make her smile a little, almost giggle even as she was held safely to the titan's chest. the cockpit was designed for smaller groups, generally one or two at most but a titan, hunter and baby were pushing the capacity a bit, it was fine though as Beth practically glowed as she played with the console, setting up for launch. with barely another minute, the hunter was off.</p>

<p>It was easy to tell that the hunter wanted to go a lot further than the wall but resisted with an edge of disappointment and settled into flying over to the edge of the wall and landing in a clear area just inside near a thin forest. normally Beth would take off with an almost dangerous burst of speed up into the sky, not holding back any of the power her dragonfly held but she made an exception for Elsie. for one, she was restricted but two, Elsie got air sickness if you flew too unevenly or fast and cleanup was not on Beth's plans today. The flight wasn't terrible for the child, likely in part because of Elsie's flight rules but they were worried for a moment regardless. the way the dragonfly flew was smooth and the way it swayed made the child happy more than anything so it was fine.</p>

<p>on landing, they piled out of the ship and both guardians seemed eager to be out in the closest place to the wilds they were both allowed for now, they did have a plan here though and Beth looked around looking satisfied. "this should do" she nodded before looking to Elsie hopefully, "are you right here for a little? I want to go for a run" she admitted with a stretch and pleased sigh, comfortably speaking in Russian.</p>

<p>Elsie nodded and waved her off playfully, "off you go then, be free little snake" she replied with a grin. "i got this" she winked and set about unpacking the picnic set they had brought with one-handed. val looked around curiously as she worked having no idea what they were up too.</p>

<p>Beth instantly narrowed her eyes at the nickname before directing herself toward the tree line looking eager and paced off onto the trees, taking off freely. she had started taking runs around the tower for the past few weeks but she obviously enjoyed doing this more in the 'wilds'. It was obvious that the hunter was quite sluggish compared to before evaline came along but it wouldn't be long before she was in proper order again and today was so she could practice.</p>

<p>While Beth was doing her thing, Elsie had laid out a big blanket and put their lunch to the side so she could set val down on her back. she was wearing a think wool jumpsuit and a had a cute little matching wool cloak and hood to keep her warm. there were many ways they could have done the same without a cloak, but they couldn't deny how cute she looked as a tiny hunter and that was reason enough honestly. as she looked around with interest, she rolled over to her tummy to look around better while she made happy bubbly sounds. Elsie watched her with a proud smile, totally captured by the little awoken charmer. they were interrupted though as Elsie looked up to the sound of boots crunching on the ground and a fellow titan approached them, he was obviously on the wall. "oh, it's just you, Elsie" he mused before crouching down at the edge of the blanket, "How are you" he greeted with a chuckle as he pulled his helmet off. "I though you were under disciplinary action?" He asked before gazing at the child, his heart instantly being stolen by her as val gave him a smile. her irises had eventually set in so now she had bright blue eyes with a more purple pink skin colour. her hair was also a more pinkish purple that like most awoken, shined almost unnaturally as it framed her face with loose curls.</p>

<p>"I am" Elsie smiled, switching back to common smoothly, "but I get one day off to help with this one" she mused proudly, eyeing the little tyke. "she also happens to be the reason I'm in trouble but that's not important" she teased playfully.</p>

<p>The titan was an exo and the baby seemed fascinated by him having never seen anything like it yet and gurgled happily at him making him beam. "she had to be the cutest thing I've ever seen" he admitted and reached out a gloved hand to her, "how long are you going to be out here?" He asked curiously as val clutched his fingers with interest.</p>

<p>"just for the afternoon, her mother wants to spar so when she sets down for a nap, we will get to it" Elsie explained casually, "you can write me down as behaving, don't worry" she assured before pausing. "while i have you, mind putting in a report for me? i need a backup, I have intentions of letting boa go for a flight without me later" Elsie smiled, "just in case you see the ship take off beyond the wall and think I'm some hooligan, thought I'd let you know and you even have permission to track me" she teased.</p>

<p>He nodded with a laugh and gave a salute, "no worries, i can be your second, not that you of all people need one, don't think there's a speck of dirt on your record that's actually yours and not someone else's mess" he mused. after carefully retrieving his fingers, he stood and turned to leave, "well I'll leave you too it, take care and call if you need a hand with anything" he offered lightly as he headed back towards the wall with his helmet. evaline seemed truly offended that he left and started whining so Elsie bribed her with her favorite bear plushie. it took a long minute but she finally decided that it would do so she cuddled and chewed on it playfully instead, likely trying to tell Elsie a vague story about something.</p>

<p>Beth returned ten minutes later breathing hard but happy and dropped down beside the titan, greeting her with a nod before eyeing her. "who was here?" She asked carefully.</p>

<p>Elsie shrugged as she replied, "Oh just someone from the wall, just doing his job" she assured lightly before nudging her cheekily, "how you feeling?" She asked.</p>

<p>Beth smiled lightly as she caught her breath and nodded, "Great, it's good to be out and about again" she admitted. evaline smiled and started talking nonsense to her mother happily on realizing she was there, after a moment of not getting attention though, she reached out to her with frustration, prompting the hunter to pick her up and cuddle her playfully. "do you like being out too?" She mused gently, the child responded with a smile, likely just enjoying being cuddled.</p>

<p>Elsie pulled the picnic basket over and pulled out some sandwiches to start eating her lunch thoughtfully as she watched the hunter with adoration, it was nice just enjoying the outside of the tower with the happy noises of val. The occasional ship flew overhead as they relaxed and Elsie started to watch the skies expectantly after a bit as well, Skye had mentioned she was going to try and make it out today but she couldn't guarantee it because she was flying back from the dreaming city. it was just when evaline was starting to doze off when a ship flew overhead slowly and landed nearby, successfully waking the child back up again and Skye approached them cheerfully although she seemed a little tired, "I hope I'm not interrupting" she spoke looking hopeful.</p>

<p>"Well, she was almost asleep" Beth admitted bluntly before giving the warlock a gentle smile, "but I suppose I'll give you a pass this time".</p>

<p>Skye looked apologetic and guilty instantly, "ah... I'm so sorry... should i go?" she asked with concern.

Beth sighed as she comforted the grumpy tot and shook her head, "sit your ass down" she ordered sternly. 

Skye blushed deeply but did as she was told awkwardly, sitting down on the blanket to join the two guardians. she was dressed in her beautiful blue dreaming city robes and looked fantastic, "had I known I would have just kept going" she admitted with guilt.</p>

<p>Beth appreciated the warlocks care, at first, she thought the warlock far to cautious and almost cowardly but was later proved wrong as Skye had an amazing mind. her ability to hack golden age tech naturally was remarkable, almost second nature despite most people beside ghosts having trouble reading old data. the hunter was almost jealous how smoothly she could pull data from a stash but her drawback was that she loved conversation and talking about her study so once she was going, you couldn't stop her without accidentally upsetting her. she was sweet though and apparently french according to golden age data so she sounded as sweet as she looked. for the life of her though, she could not hide anything. she had a huge crush on Elsie and it was only by Elsie's good graces that it hadn't been brought up because despite having pinker skin, she lit up like a dawning lantern if Elsie even looked at her the right way. on asking Elsie about it, the titan thought it was cute and didn't want to embarrass her but even as a dumb titan, she had noticed it too. 

Beth raised an eyebrow and waved her off, "It's fine, take a chill pill" she mused, "you couldn't have known" she assured before looking thoughtful. "can you stay?" She Asked.</p>

<p>Skye cleared her throat awkwardly and nodded, calming a little. "Mua? oui, of course" she nodded lightly, "I can report back any time" she assured, "can I help?" She asked hopefully.</p>

<p>"You could absolutely watch val for us" Elsie spoke up playfully, "it would make things a lot easier".</p>

<p>Skye looked happy at the thought and nodded, "of course i can watch her, what are you guys doing?" She asked curiously.</p>

<p>Elsie playfully punched her palm and grinned, "I'm gonna gonna beat Beth up" she mused playfully, motioning to the hunter.</p>

<p>despite knowing that was the plan, the words still sent a certain amount of dread into the pit of her stomach. "you sound like your going to enjoy it..' Beth muttered then looked at Skye with an explanation, "I'm getting ready for work again".</p>

<p>Skye paled a little and bit her lip looking thoughtful, "so you guys want me to keep her happy while you guys fight? i can do that" she agreed.</p>

<p>"Right, easy" Elsie nodded, before glancing to val. "we were going to wait until she was sleeping and get some practice in but your help would be much appreciated" she added.</p>

<p>"Where were you going to put her?" Skye asked curiously, "surely she would hear you both?" she asked eyeing Elsie's heavy Armour and the hunter's who would likely be just as loud when they met.</p>

<p>Beth motioned to the dragonfly as she replied, "In my ship, sparks was going to watch her since there's probably less chance of Elsie dying, and thus spark's wont be needed", she paused briefly to eye Elsie "for today anyway...".</p>

<p>Elsie just flashed her usual cheeky grin, "Don't worry, I'll sharpen you up again" she assured, "you will be killing me before you know it".</p>

<p>Beth rolled her eyes with a huff, "don't belittle me" she muttered.</p>

<p>Skye sighed and looked at Elsie with a shiver, just the mere thought of fighting that scared her, "you're terrifying, you know that?' She joked.</p>

<p>Elsie shrugged before flexing her fingers and hands absentmindedly. "I've been stuck in the city too long, I'm going crazy" she sighed, "this is the closest I'm gonna get to something that isn't mind numbingly boring" she pointed out before chuckling. "I'm about to throw myself off the tower for fun" she mused.</p>

<p>Skye held back a smile and put her hands up defensively, "ok ok, well no punches toward me today, keep it to yourselves" she sighed before offering to take evaline. "here, I woke her up, I should be fine with her for a while" she assured, "go ahead". Beth didn't hesitate to hand over the the bundle after giving her a kiss on the forehead and Skye stood and smiled at the little tyke brightly, "let's go see my ship so your parents can beat each other up" she teased lightly, earning a cute whine in response. she then looked to Elsie and Beth, "have fun i suppose" she mused lightly before walking over to her ship and taking refuge inside.</p>

<p>Now the two were free from child, Elsie looked at the hunter excitedly. "ok, ground rules, shoot away" she smiled, "where can and can't i hit, can I kill you?" She asked bluntly.</p>

<p>Beth looked thoughtful at the words, her heart fluttering with fear and after a moment, nodded, "avoid the chest if you could but my stomach is ok" she replied, "I should be fine everywhere else and as for killing me... fine, but if you do, your cooking dinner because I'm going to be screwed" she sighed. "dust still can't heal me perfectly unless I want to give up breast feeding and I don't want to yet.." she admitted.</p>

<p>Elsie nodded, noting the conditions, "you're on, anything else?" she asked carefully.</p>

<p>Beth just stood with a sigh, 'I'd ask you to be gentle but I know you couldn't if you tried so no... and no light, just basics" she finished.</p>

<p>Elsie stood eagerly and stepped into the open, taking a defensive stance after putting on her helmet. "got it, You want me to start?" she asked, clearly she was more than prepared to fight the hunter despite her break.</p>

<p>The hunter walked over to face her almost reluctantly and put on her helmet as well, sweeping the hood over her head. the titan looked bigger than ever all of a sudden and Beth knew this was going to hurt, "I need to get my reflexes up" she sighed with defeat, "go ahead".</p>

<p>Elsie nodded and when Beth was ready launched her attack, sending heavy metal covered fists the hunters way. the hunter was slow to dodge and Elsie let her dodge the first few to try and get her in the swing of it before nailing the hunter in the shoulder and making her lose her balance ,falling backwards with a groan. she stood a moment later and nodded, indicating to continue though. It was a painful exchange beginning with Beth taking a lot of heavy hits and she begun to get quicker. A year ago, this would have been an almost unfair fight, the hunter using jumps and trickery to win the fight but now Beth has to reacquaint herself with the pain of fighting and losing while she recovered the quick wit hunters were known for. Time went by quickly as they fought and as Elsie dodged out of the way, elbowing the hunter roughly, knocking her off her feet for what felt like the hundredth time, Beth raised her hand in defeat, utterly exhausted and panting heavily.</p>

<p>Elsie walked over with some concern to offer her hand, gently this time. while her fist was bloodied, Beth ignored it as she took it gratefully. "Sorry... you ok?" Elsie asked gently.</p>

<p>The hunter stood and leaned against the titan heavily for a moment before pulling her helmet off and spitting out blood, "yeah.. but I'm done for the day" she replied weakly having been winded again.</p>

<p>Elsie nodded and swept the hunter off her feet, surprising her, "you did good considering" she complimented lightly.</p>

<p>The hunter groaned quietly but appreciated the help, blushing a bit. "it sure didn't feel like I did any good" she muttered, "I'm too slow..." she complained before leaning against the titans chest tiredly breathing hard.</p>

<p>"You might be now, but you definitely improved a lot just today" Elsie assured with a chuckle, "give it a few weeks and I'm screwed" she mused. as they reached their picnic, Elsie gently set the hunter on their picnic blanket and Beth laid down gratefully.</p>

<p>after a moment for Elsie to settle down with a comfortable sigh, Beth moved to look at her lazily, "You May not have killed me, but you're still on dinner duty" Beth sighed with guilt, "sorry".</p>

<p>Elsie shrugged with a smile, clearly unbothered by the day's event's despite some blood splatter on her Armour in places. while she had been stuck in the city, she still could do her normal things which included a surprising amount. she'd pass time with jogs on the walls, push-up and other things which kept her in top shape. if she was put on the wall with someone, she occasionally had some fights for fun too but it depended on the day. naturally, it meant else was never really 'off' her game. "eh, no biggie, I probably deserve it after that last hit... maybe I was a bit rough" she admitted.</p>

<p>Beth shook her head and chuckled, "don't worry about it, I like fighting with you because you don't pull your punches" she replied, "you never have" she chuckled.</p>

<p>Elsie let out a laugh and nudged her cheekily, "You like it rough?" She asked with a chuckle.</p>

<p>Beth blushed at the clear jab and looked irritated at the direction before softening, "Not necessarily" she muttered, "but you do toughen me up, I've survived a lot because of you" she admitted before giving a coy smile.</p>

<p>Elsie smiled and gave her a nod, "funny, not many appreciate my teaching" she teased before softening, "I'm glad I can help".</p>

<p>The two were quiet for a moment while hunter recovered before finally she sat up with a stiff grunt, "thanks... i hope one day I repay you" she sighed.</p>

<p>"The bill is too big" Elsie teased, "don't worry about it". she then sighed peacefully before looking thoughtful, "how are you going to work?" She asked lightly, "I mean it's all well and good you want to but you can't take val and I might not be around either...".</p>

<p>Beth looked thoughtful as she considered the question, "I haven't figured it out yet... but I was thinking about taking over some shifts for you" she admitted and looked to the titan and raising her hands to beat her argument. "I know technically it's your punishment but you got it because of me, so-"</p>

<p>"You know I can't let you do that" Elsie argued lightly before smiling, cutting her off abruptly in the process. "it's not your fault I did the right thing, I'm my own person and so are you, this was my choice" she mused.</p>

<p>The hunter sighed looking annoyed, "please, just let me help at least, a few days a week. I know you hate this work, you can stay home and take a break" she offered sternly before pausing, "ok, so maybe breaks a bit strong but val would be fine with you, your practically her second mother, hell, more her first most of the time" she argued, "come on, please?" she asked, almost begged. while the hunter usually did take what she was given, she did still like to return the favor within reason and Elsie was certainly owed more than just a favour.</p>

<p>Elsie turned to face the hunter bluntly, using her hands to empathise her words, "You despise wall duty, you will be bored out of your mind, not to mention if I get stuck in the tower guarding some door, traveller help me, it will be worse...' Elsie warned seriously. "there's no way you have the patience, let alone the fact you've never left her properly before, there's no way" she assured stubbornly. "i see out my own punishment" Elsie assured bluntly.</p>

<p>Beth looked afraid for a second and pondered the words, Elsie had read her dead to rights, she hated such trivial work because it bored her to death. after a moment though, she only had to consider the debt she owed the titan to find her argument, "I know she will be fine with you" Beth finally nodded, "I trust you and it might be hard, but I think being stuck guarding a door will be harder and i owe you something" she sighed. "what can I do to convince you?" She asked.</p>

<p> Elsie sighed and looked at her hands thoughtfully before shaking her head, "well truthfully nothing... guard duty sucks... but in the end, if you really insist than I can't stop you if zavala allows it" she admitted with difficulty.</p>

<p>Beth nodded with determination, it hadn't even occurred to her to go see zavala and force her hand, "than let's go see him, it's time I think. you can't be the only one supporting me anymore and traveller help me, you work too damn hard" she muttered.</p>

<p>Elsie looked at the hunter with amusement, instantly ready to argue the point. "well I can keep doing that, but fine, so be it. you get zavala's permission and fine, i'll let you take a shift or two". she didn't look too happy but seemed to be letting it slide a little for now, "However... I will take over if it's too much for you" she threatened, she wasn't about to let the hunter ruin her date of freedom.</p>

<p>"It won't be" the hunter assured, "promise".</p>

<p>The two relaxed for a few more minutes before the titan looked to Beth, all tension from their previous chat gone. "hey, you wanna go for a flight?" She asked, "without me" she added before eying Skye's ship. "in fact, Skye is here, you could go for a joy light and meet us at home, see how you do away from Val for a bit" she suggested lightly.</p>

<p>Beth looked surprised at the offer and lit up for a second before looking unsure and indecisive, "are you sure?" She asked carefully. "I mean if you aren't allowed to leave than am I? And it's not really fair for me to be able to leave and you-"</p>

<p>Elsie cut her off bluntly again, "go, I can see you want too, I'll meet you at home" she assured playfully. "take as long as you like" she added before smiling, "within reason of course but don't make me force you" she added.</p>

<p>Beth gave her another indecisive look before biting her lip and standing. "fine" she admitted, trying to not sound as excited as she was. "I won't be long" she assured as casually as possible as her gaze moved to her ship.</p>

<p>"Take your time" Elsie mused as the hunter walked back to her ship before giving one last uncertain glance to Elsie before jumping in and taking off with a confident burst of speed. within a minute she had disappeared over the wall and she was gone. Elsie watched with amusement, a little envious before packing up camp and heading over to Skye's ship, letting herself in quietly, assuming evaline would be sleeping. She wasn't expecting Skye to be sleeping too however and she was curled up in the back of the small cabin, a sleeping bag around her and val. Elsie took a moment to observe them with a silent and affectionate awe before starting the ship and flying gently back to tower. the iron pendragon was quite a smooth ship to fly unlike her own, so the warlock didn't stir. truthfully she looked a bit exhausted anyway, she had been going on a lot of long trips away lately which she didn't really like to do and they must have been draining her pretty good.</p>

<p>Skye only stirred as they landed at the tower as the sounds of heavy metal footsteps moved through the cabin despite Elsie's best attempts for quiet. She sat up with a yawn, careful not to upset evaline in the process. "oh, hello Elsie' she murmured, her own accent making her a little hard to understand as she mumbled sleepily. "are you guys getting ready to go?" she asked innocently.</p>

<p>"Well Yes" Elsie answered playfully and kneeled down, "but I'm afraid we are already at the tower" she mused gently.</p>

<p>"oui.." she replied, clearly not processing it right away as a surprised blush took over. "oh, you flew us home?" She asked, "I'm sorry" she apologized with embarrassment. "I didn't mean to fall asleep" she assured weakly.</p>

<p>"It's ok" Elsie chuckled in response, bringing a hand to the warlocks head playfully, "I'm perfectly capable of flying a ship home" she assured teasingly. "pass me val and I'll even help you up" she smiled.</p>

<p>The warlock blushed worse at the playful accusation that Elsie couldn't fly and put up her hands to argue, she was silenced by Elsie's hand though and did as she was told. after being helped to her feet and a quick tidy of the ship, the two started walking home backwardly as Elsie carried val on her chest, she had woken up as they fussed about with Skye's ship so she was looking around as they walked quietly. it was about half way when Skye looked confused on realizing they were missing a fireteam member, "where's Beth?" She asked with concern.</p>

<p>"I sent her out on a joy flight" Elsie replied, "while I might not be able to leave, they didn't say she couldn't" she mused with a chuckle.</p>

<p>"And she was happy to leave?" Skye asked with concern, looking almost like she didn't believe it.</p>

<p>"I had to convince her a little" Elsie shrugged, "but it wasn't that hard, you know how much she likes flying" Elsie teased.</p>

<p>Skye seemed hesitant, she had thought that Beth was trapped in the city too but she supposed not. "I suppose your right" Skye nodded with a sigh.</p>

<p>Elsie eyed Skye thoughtfully before smiling, "So I know you're busy, but, you wanna come over for dinner?" She asked curiously. "I'm on dinner duty since I beat Beth up pretty bad' she admitted with a coy smile.</p>

<p>Skye blushed at the question, looking away flustered briefly, she did have things to do but she hadn't visited Elsie for a while and she really enjoy her presence beyond having a crush on her. Elsie was somewhat calming to be around mostly. "sure, it's been a while since I've been able to catch you away from the wall" she admitted awkwardly.</p>

<p>Elsie nodded, "exactly, so how's dinner sound" she mused, "you look like you need to relax anyway" she added smoothly.</p>

<p>Skye nodded with a sigh, trying to be playfully. "ok, ok, you've convinced me" she admitted with a deep blush. They dropped into Skye's house briefly so she could change before heading to Elsie's house just down the street and after putting evaline into bed for a moment, the titan changed as well before starting dinner. she didn't get far before pulling out a bottle of wine and pouring herself a glass to drink as she worked at the stove.</p>

<p>Skye smiled gently with a chuckle, "You look like a real parent now" she mused lightly.</p>

<p>Elsie laughed and turned to the warlock, leaning against her kitchen counter. "it's not a crime to enjoy alcohol" she argued playfully before taking a sip, "would you like some? all you need to do is ask" She replied cheekily.</p>

<p>Skye blushed and gave it a thought before looking as though she gave up nervously, "fine, but just one" she threatened weakly.</p>

<p>Elsie poured her a glass with a cheeky smile, "all it takes is one" she winked before going back to dinner.</p>

<p>Skye blushed even worse, taking a little heavier sip than she was intending before clearing her throat awkwardly, trying in vain not to just stare at her stupidly. "So what's the occasion?" Skye asked.</p>

<p>"There is none" Elsie mused, "but I'm off to the wall again tomorrow" she sighed looking moody before taking another sip.</p>

<p>Skye bit her lip and eyed Elsie with admiration, the fact she didn't complain more was amazing. "Oh, it's that kind of drink?" Skye smiled gently.</p>

<p>"I guess so" Elsie chuckled, "although, Beth mentioned that she wanted to take some of my shifts.." she added with a shrug. Elsie shifted to look at Skye over her shoulder, "honestly though, she has always despised wall duty let alone guard duty" she looked thoughtful, "I don't think it will last long" she admitted.</p>

“Well she kinda is... I mean... if not for you...” Skye muttered awkwardly. she didn't finish the sentence but Elsie knew what she meant.

“I don't regret anything” Elsie replied, “I'd even do it again if forced” she admitted before looking to Skye bluntly. “She made her choice, that’s true but I made mine” she shrugged. “I could have forced her home, I didn’t, I could have arrested her, I had her in my ship and literally could have flown her back to the tower by force... I didn’t”

Skye hadn’t thought about it that way and looked guilty but even so, she still wouldn’t be in trouble if Beth hadn’t chosen what she did in the first place. “Well you could at least let her take a few shifts right? I mean it won't hurt you” she suggested carefully, “try being a little less responsible for once”.

“I like to take my orders seriously” Elsie admitted, “it's a pride thing, I knew what I was stepping into and I was ok with the consequences, there's no point to it all if the consequences don't matter” she chuckled. “straight laced as I may be, half assed is what I'm not” she teased.

“I know” Skye sighed with defeat, “you’re our favorite stubborn metal wall” she chuckled as she sipped her wine looking a little flushed as she started to relax a little.

The sounds of cries broke through the calm and Elsie went to go check on evaline leaving Skye in the kitchen to watch over dinner. Dinner was ready when Elsie finished up with the girl and they settled in the lounge eating over a wine influenced conversation until Beth got home an hour or so later. she immediately took over with little Val and it was obvious that despite the flight, she had stressed about the girl just as much and she really enjoyed seeing val in her arms once more.

Elsie got her dinner before giving her a playful smile “so, how was your moment of freedom?” She mused.

Beth shifted to cradle evaline in one arm as she ate with her free hand. She definitely appeared happier, despite her never looking just too happy. Even with Val safe in her arms and satisfied at home, she wore an almost bored moody look. She considered her words before nodding, “pretty great but I'm happy to be home” she continued, “how was she?”.

Elsie motioned to Skye playfully, “both of them slept all the way home” she teased making Skye blush with embarrassment.

“I hate trips away...” Skye muttered, “they just exhaust me when Elsie isn’t with me” she admitted.

Beth looked curious at the explanation and eyed her, “why do you hate trips so much by the way? Does Elsie really make that much of a difference? I don't think I've ever asked”.

Skye sighed and blushed deeply, locking her fingers together awkwardly in her lap. “well... I mean they are ok” she bit her lip, “but I'd just much rather stay home... read, write, research, observe, usually I end up watching the satellites and it's interesting” she shrugged. “I guess I'm just a bit of a home body and I just don't like having to camp at a planet... the Star's are nice and all but I just find it hard to sleep and work on my own...” she muttered before eyeing elsie with shy embarrassment. “Elsie makes a difference because I can just focus on my work and she does the guarding and hard work... I tend to space out so I don’t get much work done when I’m trying to watch my back and work” she sighed.

Elsie looked amused and gave her a warm smile. “you know, I guess I can relate to some of those things, being tied down all the time though? even I want to spend a week away from the tower sometimes” she admitted thoughtfully. “you won't see me for a solid few weeks when I'm out of prison” she chuckled before shrugging, “honestly, from a training point of view, skye's the type of person who works better with someone who allows her to work by herself if that makes sense. Perfect for me of course because I can work with anybody” she smiled playfully, “but she is a wonderful little warlock” she finished gently.

Beth eyed the two before nodding, admittedly, she was the same in her own way. Elsie often let the hunter lead for the most part, only offering field advice and ideas when she thought it needed but she followed orders for the most part. She wouldn’t complain either despite her clear higher rank than Beth herself, she was a rare kind of titan as most were not that relaxed, especially the high ranking ones. “You freak me out, you know that?” Beth muttered as she picked at her dinner.

Elsie nodded looking interested, “whys that? Someone as innocent as me?” She teased.

Beth rolled her eyes with a huff, “cut the shit, you freak me out because you are too good at what you do, you’re creepy” she muttered.

Skye blushed deeply at the compliment, she didn’t have that high of an opinion of herself and not many liked her working quirks. The change of subject though gave her a chance to resettle and find her words. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you keen to leave the tower” she admitted awkwardly.

Elsie nodded and sipped her wine, she’d kept her cup filled for most of the hour and she was pretty good at holding herself too. “I’m usually not, I like the outdoors as much as anybody else but my bed is so much more comfortable, not even the stars can beat that” she chuckled before raising a finger. “Saying that though, I enjoy the choice of being able to leave at will, I have things set” she admitted. “I can take a vacation or day off when I want, work where I want and do what I want. It’s why I don’t want a clerical job. I hate being tied down or ordering others around. training kinderguardians is fine because I can do it my own way but this restriction... excuse my Russian but it can go get ****” she smiled playfully. Despite the obvious meaning of the Russian word, a very impolite curse, it felt heavier and more meaningful almost.

Beth looked a little awkward and chuckled, “that’s fair...” she muttered before changing topic, “I guess things are going to be different now, but I have to admit... Venus nights are stunning” she sighed, “but I suppose I'm tied to this little one now so I don't think I'll be able to do my normal trips anymore”. she looked a bit disappointed at the thought before softening as evaline shifted in her hold in sleep, “but that's what I paid for I suppose”.

Elsie nodded with amusement, “a steep price to be sure, but you never know. maybe when she gets older, she might want to go with you” she mused.

Skye seemed to agree and nodded also, “Knowing you, you probably won't be able to keep her on earth” Skye added with a smile.

Beth chuckled at the thought, “I wouldn't say I'd be disappointed” she admitted as gazed at evaline lovingly before remembering something and she looked at Elsie “by the way, I spoke to Zavala and he said as long as one of us turn up for duty, he doesn't care who it is”. Elsie stiffened at what those words meant and Beth continued, “so guess who gets to babysit for me” she teased.

Elsie sighed, instantly fidgeting with her glass with irritation. “or you could just stay home...” she muttered.

Beth shook her head and finished her dinner with a content sigh, “Nope, Val will be just fine with mother Elsie” she assured, “so you are going to stay here tomorrow and I'll go”. The hunter gave Elsie a cheeky smile.

Skye smiled gratefully as Elsie looked begrudgingly thoughtful, admittedly, another day off would be welcome, but her pride definitely didn’t like the situation. After a moment, she admitted defeat and sighed, “fine, thank you I suppose, I’ll find something to pass my time with I’m sure” she muttered, already thinking of some chores she could do.

Beth eyed the titan before she leaned over to give her a gentle shove. “at least try and enjoy it” she mused.

“I'll consider it” Elsie replied with a shrug before giving her a smile. “don't complain to me when you get bored” she teased, “you’d hate for me to say I told you so” she assured.

Beth scoffed and waved Elsie off, “Oh you won't have too” She assured, “I'll never give you the satisfaction". she smiled cheekily.

Skye watched them thoughtfully, she had been briefly worried as Elsie’s mood dropped but she seemed to have cheered up a little. “mind if I come over tomorrow then?” She asked shyly.

Elsie shook her head and shrugged, “I'll be here so by all means, what's on your mind?” She asked playfully.

Skye blushed as she tried to find her words. “I haven't seen you for ages, I miss you' she admitted shyly before blushing deeper, “I was thinking I could go over my study with you” she muttered awkwardly. While the excuse was true, it was only part of the reason and she didn’t want to voice the rest. She did truly appreciate Elsie just listening to her rant, the titan occasionally offered ideas that often simplified her thoughts and all up helped further her research.

Elsie chuckled and nodded, “Aww, guess that's ok then” Elsie mused playfully, “you know how to get in”.

Skye stood with a sigh although looked unsteady for a second as Elsie had absolutely convinced her to have a second glass and the warlock as a bit of a lightweight. "for now though... I might head home, thanks for dinner...' she smiled gratefully before looking thoughtful, "I have a report to write" she muttered to herself before heading to the door absentmindedly.

Elsie set her glass aside to get up and follow, hugging the warlock appreciatively from behind. "thanks for today" she mused.

Skye blushed deeply and looked instantly lost for words as Elsie proceeded to see her out. with a quick wave to Beth, Skye nodded and took a second to find her words, stuttering a little. "it's always a pleasure" she mused, "I'll see you tomorrow" she promised shyly and she escaped down the road awkwardly.

Elsie watched her go thoughtfully before sitting down again and picking up her glass with a defeated sigh, looking at Beth and switching back to Russian. "so your absolutely sure your ok with going to work tomorrow... with your fresh bruises and for a whole day without val..." she repeated sternly, because if i find out you slept in.." she threatened.

Beth looked a little hesitant before nodding, "yes, i will be fine" she assured.

'You're going to be on the wall, doing nothing... all day" Elsie continued bluntly.

The hunter sighed with irritation at the titan's attempts to turn her off the idea. "that's fine... you're really trying to go to work tomorrow aren't you" she accused, looking at Elsie.

Elsie sipped her glass, not moving her gaze, "I'm just making sure you know what your in for... if you really want to go than fine" she shrugged, "I'll let you however i don't need you lengthening my sentence" she muttered.

Beth chuckled, her reasoning was fair but she simply shook her head. "I'm going whether your going to let me or not... at least let me do this one thing for you" she sighed, "I owe you this at least and i won't be a minute late, i swear on my light" she assured.

Elsie finally nodded and eyed val, "do you want me to look after her for the night so you can sleep?" She asked, relaxing slightly.

Beth shook her head and smiled gently, "no, I'll be fine for tomorrow" she assured, "but I might leave her with you tomorrow morning" she admitted.

Elsie chuckled, "so if I have a random baby in bed with me, that's why" she mused. it certainly wasn't the first time Beth had done it and it wouldn't be the last, there were times where evaline would just sleep better beside Elsie, likely because of her natural warmth and security. if she hadn't started out with val in bed with her, Elsie didn't hesitate even in sleep to cuddle up with whoever or whatever the titan was given, Beth had had a few close calls of being dragged into bed with her. sparks often cuddled up to her mid-sleep when she was feeling particularly lonely and Elsie would shift to cuddle up with the ghost in her sleep as well. it was extraordinarily hard to escape Elsie once you were in her grip though so it was hopeless to try and steal something or someone from her once she had sleep claimed anything.

Beth nodded with amusement, "it will depend on how she feels tomorrow morning" she promised before looking curious. "just one question, why do you play with Skye like that? you know she likes you" Beth asked bluntly, "isn't that cruel?".

Elsie shrugged casually and smiled, "I'll deal with it" she chuckled before looking thoughtful at Beth's questioning. after a long pause she continued, "i don't think it is" she admitted before shifting her gaze to the hunter, "i think it would be worse to shoot her down before she was ready to say something" she sighed before looking guilty. "I'll turn her down one day, of that I'm sure".  
  
Beth looked a little unsettled at that and bit her lip, "if you know that than why wait? i feel like that is worse" she admitted, "how do you even know that?" she added.  
  
Elsie set her glass down and settled back in her chair comfortably looking a little depressed. "it's because she is a passionate person, when you have emotions like those, there's only so long until the emotions surface, it's inevitable" she admitted, "i know because I'm the same". Elsie bit her lip and returned her gaze to the hunter, "i can't share my attention with the city and a long term lover, doing so with val is already too much" she continued bluntly, "call me old fashioned or whatever you will, but when i die and i will eventually, it's going to be because I'm protecting humanity and that could be tomorrow, tonight but it's inevitable. a partner complicates that unnecessarily". Elsie smiled gently "now, don't get me wrong, i would hands down love the light out of her. i personally find her beyond attractive and especially adorable" she assured with a chuckle, "however, she deserves more than simply a fling and i don't particularly feel the need to ruin a friendship until the time comes when it happens naturally". the titan then looked solemn, "i'm not looking forward to possibly ruining a friendship because i do genuinely like Skye beyond the fact she is cute" she smiled with a huff, "she triggers that special need to protect her honestly, not because i think she needs it, i just like seeing to her safety myself... i just like making sure she stay's out of trouble".

Beth considered the words quietly, just imagining Elsie's death was extremely difficult. the hunter was half convinced she would simply just be too stubborn to die but her words made sense for what she knew of the titan. a white knight till the end, she lived for the light's purpose, she would protect until the end. knowing that, she almost felt bad for Skye as there was no malice in Elsie's pre-determined decision, just practicality and a desire to cause the least pain possible. "i guess that makes sense" Beth nodded, "but why be so affectionate with her, aren't hugs and such just... doesn't that give the wrong idea?" she asked.  
  
Elsie shook her head with amusement, "of course not" she chuckled. "i'm just a cuddly person, you should know that, i treat all i meet with the same affection whether it's asked for or not, there's no reason not to share the joy of being alive. not when i feel so good and have so much to be happy about" Elsie mused.

Beth rolled her eyes at the sickeningly cheerful response and stood tenderly, "well on that disgusting note, I should get an early night considering..." she sighed. "I'll see you tomorrow at some point" she shrugged as she shifted evaline, she paused though before finally looking back to elsie. "i don't deserve your help" she muttered with defeat and she headed to her room.

Elsie gave her a nod and smiled, "everyone deserves kindness" she mused before looking thoughtful "of course, take it easy". The titan did feel a bit concerned about letting the hunter work for multiple reasons but both guardians were as stubborn as each other so she didn't bother arguing anymore. the topics Beth brought up settled in her mind for a little but as Elsie finished off her glass of wine, she decided to think on something lighter and set about cleaning up instead. she wasn't sure what to do after that though considering she was so used to getting an early night for work tomorrow, and now there was no work, she was a bit stumped, she eventually settled for a shower and she got into bed with her tablet and the attractive voice of shaxx and the crucible, she found herself sleeping before she knew it despite the weight of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> character Profile: Elsie  
> Beth is the heart of the fireteam known Russian roulette. she single handedly brought them and keeps them together and she does so without trying really. Beth hangs around because elsie is dependable and willing to look away from her various less noble choices of work without judgement. Skye was essentially adopted by Elsie on her first mission out in the cosmodrome, she offered the warlock help and skye took it, inevitably leading to the creation of the fireteam. in later endeavers.
> 
> Elsie is a charismatic sort, generally most people that come into contact with her leave happier and that is by design, she enjoys brightening peoples day by any form, whether that be a joke or playing off the titan's various presumed traits. chief among those were titan's being dumb or simple, pretending to think with her fists or just not taking things seriously. she often kinda act's like one of the boys in a sense as she can make herself fit into any situation comfortably. elsie despite her less than serious nature, she will always takes her appearance as a guardian seriously. she will almost never put herself in a situation that would give any civilian or guardian alike a reason to question her motivations as her motivations are always in the best interests of the city.
> 
> Off duty however is very different. while Elsie is by no means one to go out and cause mischief, she is as she has herself stated, a very passionate person. she enjoys her time with various different pursuits and if her armour is in good condition, she will often enjoy going out for drinks and late evening affairs as she likes. she's well known around the more excitable parts of the tower where she enjoys the pleasures of the night however she refuses to create anything permanent as her ultimate loyalties lie in the safety of the city. in her eyes, her life matters but only in the way that she exists as a soldier of the light. she enjoys the befits of life but no further than passing her time. her loyalty knows no bounds.
> 
> her loyalty of course extends to her ghost, Iskra, or spark, often pronounced sparks in conversation. she too has a Russian name as Elsie was born on mars and speaks the language of the area. sparks often reflects Elsie's moods whether that be over confident or serious but without Elsie's influence, sparks is unexpectedly shy and easy to frighten. the ghost dresses quite confidently, often being seen in the neon shell with bright flashing lights. while the two of them won't mention their age but it's fair to say that sparks would be simply lost without Elsie. their companionship shows in that Elsie needing to simply think about what she wants and sparks will offer her exactly what she needs. if Elsie wants her shotgun, she simply needs to raise her hands to catch the weapon as sparks will without a doubt, transmat it directly where she want's it without a word spoken.
> 
> while Elsie is very patient after her years, she will turn violent very quickly if any whisper off a threat is directed to her ghost and she is slightly better if the same is directed to those around her.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Fallen Paths](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28542351) by [Fireteam_Russian_Roulette](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fireteam_Russian_Roulette/pseuds/Fireteam_Russian_Roulette)




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